Control the Curse
by Bipolar Nyxie
Summary: **SEQUEL TO THE STORM INSIDE OF ME***TW: Dissociative Identity Disorder, TW labels where needed* Elsa has officially been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. But can she embrace her broken past and all of who she is? Or will it be too much? With her powers still untamed, it might not be so easy-for any of them.
1. New Horizon (Astra, Arcy, Elsa)

_**Hello all and welcome to the exciting sequel to "The Storm Inside Of Me," my D.I.D!Elsa fanfic. If you haven't read it, go read it before you even start this one. Otherwise you'll be completely lost as to what's going on. Those who have followed me to the sequel, thank you for joining. Enjoy this chapter! It's a cute one!**_

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Chapter One-New Horizon (Astrania, Arcana, Elsa)

Arcana sat on Astra's lap and colored, making more of her morbid art. "Look white lady! She drew more!"

Astrania smiled and patted Arcy's head. "And she's done a wonderful job. She has quite a talent, does she know that?"

"Aw, she thanks you!" Arcy giggled. "Hey Nia, can she ask you a question?"

"Sure, what does she want to know?" Astra had gotten used to addressing Arcy in third person. It was how she best responded.

"Why do you look like red and black? Red and black is a meanie face who only hurt her."

Astra smiled. "Nia is her sister. But as she can see from how I am, I keep Arcy safe. No one will hurt her. I promise."

Arcy smiled. "Yay! She likes you! You're soft and safe."

"Would she like to go to a park?"

"A park? She'd love to! She loves seeing all the ducks! They're like floating balls of fluff!" Arcy giggled as she climbed on Astra's back. "Can Nia fly her there? She enjoys the fresh air and feeling the wind."

"Sure, they can fly there." Astra stood and walked out of the castle. "She should hold on tightly so she doesn't fall." Astra jumped up and flapped her wings, getting airborne. It took only a few minutes for them to get to Crystalline Park. She helped Arcy off her back and watched as the little girl ran around. She really was just a kid. It was a shame she'd been so traumatized and tortured. But Astra would make sure it never happened again. Arcana sat by the lake shore and drew the ducks floating on the water. Astra smiled, glad to see the girl having fun. "Be careful, Arcana. Too close and she could fall in the water."

"She's alright! Thank you though!"

Astra smiled and looked around. It was a serene park. The day was calm and peaceful, a light breeze slightly stirring the leaves. She saw Elsa walking along and decided to talk to her. "Elsa!" Astra waved her hand.

Elsa looked up from the ground and waved back. "Hey Astra. What's up?" She came over and sat down on the bench beside Astra.

"Nothing much, really. Arcana wanted to come to the park. I mean I offered and she accepted so I brought her. She loves to watch the ducks. She says they're floating fluff balls." Astra giggled. "It's super adorable."

"Oh, well at least she's having fun," Elsa sighed.

"How are you holding up? I know it's a lot to take in at once."

Elsa sighed and rubbed her face. "I don't know how to feel about it. I feel fine and don't think there's anything wrong with me, but I'm faced with proof. I saw the tapes, my diary page, the drawings. My body was moved by a few other people, my memory matches the time loss thingy and I've met all of you. How can I argue with that?"

"Elsa, I know it's hard but just give it time. I'm sure everything will make sense."

"The only thing that makes sense in my life is that my life is insane. I have a mental condition in which several people live in my head and on top of that, I have the gift of snow. How am I supposed to take that? Mom had always said that the magic died when grandma Swan did."

"Perhaps she was just trying to protect you."

"I guess so. But why couldn't she have just been truthful?"

"Elsa, did you stop to think that maybe you weren't old enough to understand the consequences if she had told you? Imagine you're a 5 year old and your mom tells you that you have magic snow powers. As a kid, wouldn't you try and play around with it?"

Elsa looked to Astra, her bright emerald eyes smiling. "Yeah, I probably would have. And that would have been a bad thing. After all, the people of Norway fear magic." The last two words echoed in her mind. "Fear magic, fear magic…." She mumbled, the scenery blurring and shifting into another scene entirely. Once again Elsa was watching her younger self.

**She was in her father's basement, tied to a table. _'What the? Why am I tied to a table? And why do I look so scared? What's going on?'_ She watched as her father entered the memory.

Elsa stared in nervous silence as her father waved the beads over her, asking the Father for his blessing in the ritual. "Ritual? If this is a ritual, shouldn't a priest be here?"

Ian's expression darkened. "No. If they find out about a demon that gave you powers…They'd, they'd…kill you. The government fears magic that much. I would rather do this myself then lose my only child."

"K-kill?!" She squeaked. "They wouldn't kill a child…would they?" She looked to her father, her eyes filled with terror. His silent reply only made her more frightened.

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and stifled a hiccup. She growled, Ian heard her growl and his expression hardened. "The demon is responding to the beads being near!"

"What?" Elsa blinked. "No that was me, Daddy. I'm arguing with the lady."

"Don't speak! Don't even think! The demon will use any means possible to control you!"

Elsa quieted, too scared of his temper lash out. She was scared of what was going on, not really understanding anything. But she didn't want to disobey him. She had never really seen her father angry and she didn't want to anytime soon. Elsa watched as her father placed rosary beads on her forehead and began reading from the book. There were a bunch of words she didn't understand and the smell of the thin stick was still hanging around the room; getting thicker by the second. It made her eyes water. "Daddy, that smoke stuff is making me feel sick," Elsa whined, feeling nauseous. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

"Hush, Elsa. Anything you say, the demon can use to hurt you, or us." Ian snapped. He sprinkled holy water over Elsa, reading more lines from the book. He stopped and walked to the smoking stick. "Elsa, I vow I will save your soul from the demon trying to take you from us." He walked back over and traced the burning end of the funny smelling stick over the symbols he drew on her forehead.

"Ah! Daddy that burns! Stop!"

"Hush Elsa! I'm trying to exorcise the demon from you."**

Elsa gasped and rubbed her head, panting heavily. "What, what was that?"

"Elsa, are you alright?"

"I, I'm not sure. It's like certain things bring back memories I didn't know about and it hurts my head. It makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"Those are flashbacks, Elsa. Flashbacks of things you've repressed or that your other altars went through. It's completely natural."

"I don't like it. My head is throbbing and it burns in one place. It feels like I was burned. And by my father. Was I wrong about my father? Is he really what caused all my problems?"

Astra sighed lightly. "I cannot say. That is something you must discover on your own terms when you're ready. What I can say is that all of us are here now and we can keep you from getting hurt anymore. At least we can try. We can't control what goes on in the real world, so we might miss a few things here and there."

Elsa sighed and leaned against the back of the bench. She watched Arcana chase ducks around. "She's a puny little thing, isn't she?"

"Indeed. She's the child that you never got to be. And now that she's safe, Arcy can be the child she was created to be."

"Well, at least one of us gets to be a kid." She got up and stretched. "Thanks for the talk, Astra. It makes me feel a little more at ease with things."

"Glad I could help you, Snowflake," Astra smiled.

Elsa walked back to her castle, letting Astra and Arcy have time to themselves at the park.

Astra turned her attention back to Arcy and got on all fours. "Hey Arcana, I'm gonna get her! And I'm gonna tickle her!"

"No! No, tickle!" Arcy started running, tossing her art utensils up in the air.

"Oh she's gonna be tickled alright! And she's gonna be tickled until she can't get away anymore!" Astra crawled after Arcy, letting her get a lead. "Oh no, where could she be? I guess if I can't find her, she won't be tickled." Astra got up and feigned giving up as she walked passed a tree. "Or she could be…here!" Astra spun around the tree and grabbed Arcy, tickling her ribs.

"No, no! She can't take it! Arcy can't take it!" Arcy laughed her butt off, squirming as Astra tickled her." No more! No more! She gives! Nia wins!" Astra smiled and helped sit Arcy up, taking leaves out of her hair.

"How about we go back? I think it's snack time."

"Ooohh! She'd like that! She is hungry. Arcana wants to a peanut butter and banana sandwich with grapes on the side."

"Okay, I'll make it for her. Anything to drink?"

"Uhh…" Arcy thought for a minute. "How about apple juice? Can she have apple juice? She loves apple juice!"

"Of course, sweetie. Anything she wants," Astra smiled as she flew them back to Elsa's castle.

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_**Ah a short but heartwarming way to start the sequel. Again, read the prequel "The Storm Inside Of Me" if you're new to this piece. Otherwise nothing will make sense. But anywho, thanks for joining me in Elsas healing process. Hopefully you'll enjoy this one as much as the last!**_


	2. Overwhelmed (Anna)

Chapter 2-Solitude (Anna)

Anna woke the next morning and stretched. When was the last time she had slept so good? She yawned and went into the living room, seeing Diane in the kitchen. "Hey Mom, what's for breakfast?"

"Good morning, Anna. As promised, chocolate chip pancakes. Would you like chocolate milk with them?'

"That sounds good to me!" Anna smiled as she sat at the kitchen table. "How'd you sleep, Mom?"

"I slept wonderfully. How about you sweetie?" Diane laid a glass of chocolate milk and a plate of pancakes in front of Anna. She went to the counter again and brought back butter and syrup. She sat by Anna, putting butter on her own pancakes.

"I slept sweet for the first time in a long time. I had some pretty rad dreams but I don't remember what they were about, just that I was having fun. So what happens today?"

"Well you woke up a bit late but we can still get you to school. Are you ready?"

Anna looked up from a mouthful of pancakes. "Ready for what?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full sweetie. Are you ready for high school?"

Anna nearly choked on her pancakes. "High school?!" She took a big gulp of her milk and looked to Diane. "Are you sure I'm ready for high school? I mean, I've never been to one before."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Anna. You're a clever girl. Besides, you'll get to make new friends."

Anna nodded. "Well, I guess that's true." She finished her pancakes and milk, putting the dishes in the sink. "So, when do we go?"

"Well, you can't go dressed in your pajamas. Go find something to wear, get your school stuff together and we can go."

"Alright. You really think I can do this?"

"I know you can. You're a brave, smart girl." Diane smiled and gave Anna a hug. She watched as Anna went to her room to get dressed. Sure, she called her daughter a different name and she acted totally different, but she was still her daughter. And it seemed the medicine Dina prescribed was working. Anna hadn't acted nervous or like she was going to throw up. So that was a plus, too. Hopefully it would help her keep her grades up as well.

Anna dressed herself in a nice yellowish dress, putting on black flip flops, double braiding her hair. She brushed her teeth and got her supplies together. Before she left the room, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Her teal eyes sparkled, bright reddish hair in braids, freckles all over the place. Did everyone else really see her with white hair and blue eyes? She didn't see how but hey, to each their own. Anna shrugged and walked out with her backpack. Diane was waiting for her by the front door.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's do this!" Her and Diane walked out and into the car. On the drive there, Anna stared out the window. What would high school be like? Would the teachers be like they were in elementary school? Did they still do nap time and recess? Did the teachers give snacks? Before she knew it, Diane had parked in front of the school. "Arendelle Preparatory Academy. This is where I go to school?"

"It sure is. Now remember Anna, people and teachers will call you Elsa. But that's alright. Just answer to it and it won't cause any problems or confusion for anyone else. Can you do that?"

Anna shrugged. "I guess so. What classes do I go to?"

"Luckily I saved your schedule from the start of the year. Here ya go." Diane took the schedule from the visor and handed it to Anna.

"Oh god, you're a life saver Mom. Thanks so much!" She gave Diane a quick hug and left the car. She walked a few steps and looked to the schedule. "Okay, first is English Literature with Miss Katri. Sounds easy enough." Anna stopped to dig through her backpack. "Just to be sure, was there any homework from any of these classes in here?" She double checked the list. English literature, earth science, algebra, world history, choir and dance p.e. First four were a check and the last two were homework free. Anna heaved a huge sigh of relief. At least whoever was here last had done the homework. One less thing to worry about. But now Anna had another problem on her mind: understanding the lectures the teachers would give. She took a huge breath and approached the double doors leading into the school. Everything was so much different than what she had expected. Lockers with combination locks lined the walls, kids were bustled in groups and teachers were walking around rustling through papers. Anna glanced at the schedule sheet, looking all around for her locker and its combination. Nothing on the front, she flipped it over. There she found Diane's writing. "Locker 23D, combination 21 left, 6 right, 7 left. I can always count on Mom to look out for me." She walked among the lockers until she found hers and put in the code. It unlocked and she opened it, curious as to what was in it. She found textbooks, some loose papers and a note from Kiri.

"If you're reading this, you're in high school. The teachers aren't as nice as they were when you were in school. There's no recess, snack time or nap time. If you thought the kids in elementary school were cruel, then get ready. These kids will find the smallest thing and make it out to be the worst part about you. Avoid getting in fights at all costs-you could get expelled and then you'd have to find somewhere else to go to school. Lunch comes after 3rd period and school is out at 2:15 p.m. I made a map to all your classes using the school map. I numbered which classes you go to based on your schedule. So, 1st period is marked with one and so on and so forth. I might not be able to help you but the least I can do is provide you with the information you'll need to navigate the campus. The cafeteria is marked with L for lunch so you'll know where to get your food. The code you need to put in the keypad after getting your food is 25553. Don't worry about taking the bus home, Diane comes to pick you up every day. For convenience, each class you sit in the back row. Once you walk in, stay with the first row of seats by the door and go all the way down the row. That's where you sit in every class. The teachers call you Elsa but that's normal. No one knows who you really are. There's not really many people you talk to, if only about assignments during class. Sad to say you don't have many friends. Hans, well if you see him bolt into the nearest girls room. He's out for vengeance after what happened with Nassiri. Good luck. Kiri."

Anna blinked and sighed. "Well, that's more useful information. I'll take it with me and leave it here in the locker before I go home. That way if Aya or Elsa needs it, it's there." She took the note with her and searched the locker for the map, finding that easily. "Well, here goes nothing." She followed the map to the first class and then took the back seat in the first row. "Oh crap," Anna smacked her forehead. She'd forgotten to take her medicine before she left. She nervously bit her lip, playing with the ends of her braids. The bell rang a few minutes later, startling her. "Oh, silly me."

The rest of the kids filed in and took their seat. A few lagged behind, looking like trouble makers. They stopped by Anna and banged her desk. "Hey freak, gonna be all snobby like you were last week? Or have you learned to be quiet? Just because you're a smart little kid doesn't mean shit here."

Anna didn't look up. "I won't cause any problems."

"That's better. Come on Cherie, let's leave this freak alone."

Kiri hadn't been kidding. The kids did seem more menacing then elementary kids. She made a note to stay away from them.

The teacher came in, glanced at all the students, called a few names and turned to the desk. She picked up a clipboard and began making rounds. "Everyone did their homework, I assume?" The class muttered various responses as she collected the assignment. Anna dug through her backpack and found it just as Miss Katri got to her. "I don't even need to ask if you did. You always did turn in your work early or on time." She walked passed, a few students glaring at Anna.

"If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be such a high grading curve in this class." One student hissed.

"Yeah, we were all passing with at least a B until you got here. Now we have C's and it's all your fault. Go back to junior high!"

Anna slunk down in her seat. "It's not like I wanted to be here in the first place. Just leave me alone."

"Hey, snarky little brat, you're only 13, we're 15. Shut up." A few paper wads hit her.

Anna, feeling insecure, closed her eyes. They kept whispering mean things and blaming her for them failing. "It's not my fault, I don't even want to be here," she muttered. "It's not like I asked for this. Just, just leave me alone." She felt things being thrown at her and heard some laughing in response to her covering her head.

"Look at her, being a baby and trying to hide. Maybe she thinks if she hides we'll go away." A snide girl commented, the class bursting in to laughter at her.

Why wasn't the teacher doing anything? Weren't teachers supposed to help? She tried to ignore them but the whispers just seemed to get louder. "Why did I forget my medicine today? Of all days…"

"Did you hear that Cherie? Little Elsa takes medication." Whoever it was laughed and threw something hard at Anna. "What's the matter Elsa? Are you retarded and that medicine makes you smart?"

"That's enough Katie! Everyone shut up or it's detention for all of you!" Miss Katri rolled her eyes. "Elsa, stop causing trouble."

"What?" Anna looked up. "I'm not even doing anything!"

"Don't talk back to me!" The teacher replied before going back to writing a passage on the board.

"I hate high school," Anna crossed her arms and sat back in the chair, annoyed.


	3. Weather The Storm (Anna, Elsa, Astra)

_**TW: paranoia, hallucinations**_

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Chapter 3-Weather the Storm (Anna, Elsa, Astra)

Anna sighed heavily as she walked out of the class. It was a drag. And the day wasn't nearly over. She went to her locker and read the slip from Kiri again. Looking at the map, her next class was in the 200 hall. It was earth science. Shouldn't be too bad, right? She took her seat in the back of the class, quietly ignoring the other students and their snide remarks about her. Why was everyone against her? Were they really against her or against someone else? She could understand if they were against that horrid red haired panther woman. She was a vile, despicable woman. But did they see her or Elsa? Anna never really understood that. She appeared to be herself and not Elsa. She and the girl looked completely different. Couldn't the others see that too? She shook her head and took notes on how the Earth's crust was under so much pressure that rocks were heated and pressed into gems over a period of time. Anna found the unit interesting and was most intrigued by rubies. Most rubies were lab created nowadays. Who knew? All too soon the class was over and Anna was on her way to her locker. With a sigh, she headed to the next class, algebra. It was in the 300 hall. Anna wasn't looking forward to it. Math was never really her strongest subject. She walked into the building and found the room number, sticking to what Kiri had written about seating. She looked to the board and was instantly confused. Negative B plus the square root of B squared minus 4ac? What on Earth was that supposed to be? It looked like a foreign language to her. Anna felt her stomach knot up. She played with the ends of her braids as the rest of the students filed in.

"Alright class, hand in your pre-exam sheets."

Anna let out a tiny squeak. The teacher seemed to have dropped from the air. Had he been in the room the whole time? She ruffled through her backpack and found the assignment. He smiled as he took it from her and went around to the rest of the class. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, hoping he wouldn't call on her during the lecture. But she didn't have any luck.

As soon as he had collected the papers, he turned his sharp gaze to her. "Elsa, can you tell me what this formula is?" His marker pointed to the equation with the b's and numbers.

She gulped and slouched back a little. "Um, I can't…really remember right off…I had a hard night last night…"

A few students laughed, murmuring that she was just a dumb kid. The teacher shook his head. "Really Elsa you were on fire with this last week. It's the quadratic formula."

"Sorry sir…" She muttered, looking down at her desk.

"Don't apologize or make excuses. Make effort and progress." He turned to his desk and grabbed a stack of papers. "Open your books to page 143 and do these practice sheets. I expect them to be done by the time class is over." He stood at the front of each row, handing out the sheets. Anna stared as her paper came to her. It all looked like alphabet soup was thrown up on by numbers and lines.

"I can't do this…It's too complicated."

The girl in front of her turned around. "What's wrong, Elsa? Your little genius pill wear out? Yeah I heard from Katie how you take pills. You aren't anything special. Just a dumb little kid who takes pills and gets smart from them. You're a pill popping kid. You should be ashamed. What does your mother think?"

Anna leaned back, a little offended. "I do not pop pills. Whatever that means. So I take medicine for things, what's wrong with that? No one is perfectly healthy and normal."

The girl snorted. "We are, you're just some kid with freak issues." She turned back around with a mean laugh.

Anna slouched down further in her chair. "I should have kept my mouth shut." A feeling of being watched crept its way under her skin. It was like an itch she couldn't scratch. As the class worked in silence, Anna looked around the room. No one, not even the teacher, was watching her. So who was? Anna thought back to the hallways. She had gotten the feeling then, too. She looked around and thought she saw a face in the classroom door window. Anna shook her head. There was no one there, everyone was in class. So why did it feel like she was being watched? Her heart picked up, making her breathe a little faster. She opened her book to the page and tried to focus on the lesson. Her uneasiness grew steadily until she couldn't keep her feet from moving restlessly. The words on the page seemed to dance. Anna rubbed her eyes several times to try and clear her vision. It didn't work. So she looked from the book to the posters on the walls. Most of the posters were lame attempts at mathematical humor. Something dark moved in her peripheral vision and Anna quickly swiveled around to catch it. It was just shadows in the corner of the room. But the more Anna stared, the more they moved. Was something crawling on her arm? With a squeak Anna swatted her arm. _'Calm down, Anna. The last thing you need to do is give these teens a reason to single you out as a joke…Just, just breathe…'_

_'You can't calm down and you know it. You're in a place you've never known and you're surrounded by people who are out to get you. There's no calming down from here.'_

_'No, I'm not gonna listen to you.'_

_'I only speak the truth. Even the shadows in the room are out to get you. Haven't you noticed the shadows wrapping around your legs to hold you down?'_

Anna just barely opened her eyes and glanced under the desk. The voice was right. The shadows were wrapping around her legs. Without a word or hall pass, Anna bolted from her chair and out of the room. She couldn't let the shadows grab her. They would drag her…Drag her where? It didn't matter where, she just couldn't let them take her. She bolted into the nearest girls room and stood over the sink, panting. A thin layer of sweat glistened on her skin as her heart raced. Anna panted and ran the water. Her hands shook as she splashed water on her face. Her head was throbbing and her lungs felt as if they were bound tightly. "That was a close one…." She whispered to her reflection.

A classmate came in a few moments later and crossed her arms, tapping her foot. "Seriously, Elsa. What the fuck is up with you? One day you're a fucking genius making us all feel like grade schoolers and the next you're flipping your shit and bolting from the class. Get your shit together. He wants you back in class now. I'm not coming in again." The girl turned and left, twitching her butt as she left.

_'Great. Day one of high school for me and already someone hates me. I just want to make friends and have fun. Is that so hard? Is that too much to ask for?' _Anna leaned against the wall by the door for a few seconds, trying to calm herself. Her heart was still racing and her breathing still labored. But it seemed in high school no one cared what you were going through. If you caused an inconvenience, you were in trouble. Her stomach sank. She couldn't go back out there. But she had to. With a deep breath and some false confidence, Anna left the bathroom and retraced her steps back to class. The class was silent as she approached but as she walked in, a few people started whispering to each other about her. At least she assumed it had to be about her. What else would they talk about after she came back? How exciting math was? As if. She sat down and tried to focus on the lesson again.

Steps approaching made her look up. The teacher was frowning at her. "What was that about, Elsa?"

Anna's mouth felt as if her tongue had been left in a desert for days. She gulped and struggled with words until she heard herself blurt out, "I'm sorry. I thought I was getting my period early." The class snickered at her, the girl in front of her scoffing. "I had really bad stomach cramps and thought, well…I already said it." Her mouth kept on. "It won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't. I'll let you off this time with a warning." He returned to his desk, eyeing her now and then between grading papers.

The girl turned around to face her. "How old are you? Like 12? Why would you get your period a year early? Think you're fucking special? Get a grip you freak."

"I'm not looking for trouble so don't start any." Anna's mouth retorted. What was she saying? "I'll do my work in peace if you just leave me alone." The response shut up the rude classmate. Anna fell back against her chair back and sighed heavily.

_'Anna, did you take your medicine today?'_

_'Kiri? Uh no, I was rushed out and didn't have time to.'_

_'You can't possibly handle the rest of the day. I'll take it from here.'_

_'Thank you so much Kiri! This school life already seems impossible to navigate!'_ Anna felt the familiar sensation of falling and blackness as she let Kiri take control. Gravity fell into her and she turned to see the familiar ice castle she has moved to. Happy, Anna skipped to it.

Elsa sat on the couch in the living room. It seemed not long ago that she had created this castle using her magic. Her thoughts were spinning. She had a disorder that made multiple people live in her head. Wasn't that just an active imagination? Imaginary friends? Normal? But from what Dina had told her, imaginary friends and these 'alters' she had created were entirely different. The few memories of her childhood were haunting and in complete contrast to what she remembered. Her father performing rituals on her, Hans and his friends basically treating her like crap during grade school, almost freezing to death in her own room… A splitting pain in her head had Elsa curling up for a few seconds. What else about her childhood was just lies and white sheets over demons?

"Don't dwell on the past without reason, Snowflake." Astrania's familiar voice didn't even startle Elsa. "You'll find out everything in time. Until then, don't trouble yourself with it. Live for the present."

Elsa looked up to see the angel, as usual Arcana was perched on her back. "She really loves your wings, doesn't she?"

Astra smiled warmly and patted the young girl. "She does. It's where she feels safe. And if she feels safe under or near my wings, then she can be there whenever she wishes." Astra didn't so much as wince as another feather was plucked.

"Geez, with how often she plucks out your feathers, you'd think your wings would just be bones by now."

Astra's laugh was musical and Elsa couldn't help but smile. "My feathers grow back. It's no matter to me if she wants to take some. I do believe she's working on something with them."

"Is Lady talking to her imaginary friend again?"

"Yes I am, Arcy. You're a smart girl."

"Isn't Lady a bit old to have imaginary friends?" Arcy bopped Astra's face with the plucked feather.

Astra chuckled. "You're never too old for a friend, Arcy. Real or imaginary."

Elsa looked to the two. Arcy was a cute little 8 year old with sandy blonde hair always half up and piercing dark blue eyes. A stark contrast to Astrania's fiery red hair and emerald eyes. It was amazing to think that locked in the first castle was a woman who was identical to Astrania but apparently evil. Elsa stared at Astrania, wondering how much she knew about her 'twin.' A deep and unnerving depression settled over Elsa as she glanced at her arms. There were scars there from who knew what/when. There were so many pieces of Elsa's life missing. When would she see Dina again? Elsa sighed and curled up on the couch as Arcy gushed to Astra about another morbid drawing.


	4. Until It Sleeps (Nass, Elsa, Kiri)

_**It feels so good to be writing again! I'm slowly getting back into my dark side :D Lol. Anyway, thanks for the welcomes and what not. Here's chapter 4!**_

_**TW: Stabbing, blood, flashbacks**_

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Chapter 4-Until It Sleeps (Nass, Elsa, Kiri)

Elsa wandered out of her new castle and around the inner world. Everything in her life was spiraling out of control. Did she really have a disorder? Was her father really the main cause behind it? She stopped and sat at a nearby bench, staring up at the sky. It was gray and gloomy, much like her mood. Elsa stared down at her hands. No matter what else, she couldn't deny one fact: she had powers. She had done the family tree project and had even made the ice castle. No amount of denial could make either fact disappear. A sigh escaped her lips as she leaned against the back of the bench. She felt restless and had to get the answers. But no one she lived with was willing to talk to her about anything. A sinking feeling settled in her heart as she realized there was one person who would probably love to tell her the truth of her life: Nassiri. Uncertainty and hesitation washed over her. Did she really want to confront the woman for answers? Was she that desperate? After a moment to reflect, Elsa decided she was that desperate. Resolutely, she made her way back to the old castle.

Nassiri paced the inside of her cell, ankle shackles rattling with each step. It was the most ungodly annoying thing to have your hands, ankles and wings bound. She scowled. It was all her fault. It didn't matter which her. In Nassiri's eyes, they were all to blame for her imprisonment. She leaned against the wall, narrowing her eyes. She barley glanced at Elsa when she stepped in front of the door. "What do you want, Snowfreak?"

"I want answers. And you're probably the only one who'd be willing to give them to me."

Nassiri couldn't help the evil grin that spread on her lips. "You must be desperate if you're going behind your protectors back to talk to me."

"How'd you know that?"

"I know pretty much everything. I've been here since you were just a frightened little girl. You're not much different than that, now. But why should I tell you anything?"

Elsa hadn't thought about that. "I want to know."

The evil angel turned her back to Elsa. "Psh, like I care what you want. No one cares what I want. They've all locked me in this wretched prison of despair and agony to have carefree lives. They destroyed my life."

"But that's so you won't hurt anyone."

"You're afraid."

The statement was so bizarrely out of place that Elsa paused for a minute. "Afraid?"

"That's right. You want answers but you're afraid it'll shatter the fragile reality you knew growing up." Nassiri slowly turned to Elsa. "And maybe I should tell you a few things for that reason. To break you into even smaller fragments of who you are. So I can watch you squirm in agony and relish the fact that I did it."

Elsa took a step back. This woman really was twisted.

"I'll tell you what. I'll share a memory with you that no one else has. Just me. And why? Because it was just me and you who know. Though you've probably repressed it." Nassiri sat down, folding her legs under her. "You were just 11…"

Elsa felt a migraine throbbing as Nassiri began. Is this how memories were shared? She sat back against the wall adjacent to the door and listened to Nassiri, the images coming to her.

**Elsa was standing in the living room of her mother's house, grinning ear to ear. The room was covered heavily with frost and her mom was begging her to stop. "But why? You've always told me to embrace who I am and everything that makes me special. I thought that meant practicing with my powers, too?"

"No, Elsa. Not like this. This isn't how you do it. You'll freeze us both like this."

"The cold never bothered me anyway," Elsa replied nonchalantly, her tone flat and bored. "So you'll freeze? Collateral damage." Elsa walked out of the living room, leaving the house. It was a brisk night, around 10 pm. "Girls my age are all inside like good little girls. Pathetic." She wandered about, heading to the nearby park. A few people were walking on the street, not many. A young woman was walking alone, a shady looking guy following her. Elsa sat on the side of the road and watched the young woman and shady guy. It didn't look like she knew she was being followed. Elsa's voice choked in her throat as she tried to give warning.

_'You're not going to do anything. This is natural selection at work.' _Elsa heard Nassiri's voice.

_'But I think she's in danger. I can't just stand by and do nothing!'_

"Look around you, Elsa. Do you see anyone else going out of their way to help her? No. Why? People would rather save their own asses any trouble then look out for others. If that means someone gets hurt, oh well. People are selfish, greedy pieces of shit. No one can change that."

Elsa went silent. The woman crossed the street to Elsa's side and sat on a bench. She saw herself try and get up but get pulled down by invisible hands. "Why won't you let me get up? Maybe no one else wants to help but I do."

"Just watch."

Elsa watched as the shady guy crossed the street, got into shadows. He approached the woman, said something and as she got up, Elsa's eyes caught sight of something silver. Before the woman could run, the man jumped on her and began stabbing her repeatedly. Elsa gasped. She wanted to cover her eyes or turn away, but she wasn't moving. "Nice job!" Her mouth blurted. Now her hands moved to her mouth.

The man stalked toward her, covered in blood. "You saw nothing!"

Her hands moved from her mouth, words spilling out. "I saw everything, beginning to end. What are you gonna do if I talk, huh?" Elsa stood and looked up to the man. Elsa could feel the panic and fear coursing through her as if she was back in that same night, reliving the memory.

The man flashed the bloody knife at her. "You'll see."

Elsa crossed her arms and put a leg to the side. "I'm not scared of you. I have no reason to be."

An intense pain exploded in Elsa's torso before her eyes could register the quick movement. She fell to her knees, warmth and wetness pooling around the pains explosive center. The man ran off into the darkness, Elsa feeling everything.

"Why did you confront him, Elsa?" Nassiri asked her.

"I didn't! Someone else did! I wanted to help the lady not confront him!"

"Yet you're the one who spoke to him. No one else."

"It wasn't my fault…" Elsa stumbled to her feet and tripped, falling to the ground. Her torso screamed agony into her nerves. Elsa sat up and looked at her torso. She was covered in her blood… "Blood…Blood…Not her fault…" **

Elsa screamed and held her torso, panting in agony. "Oh god it hurts…But it's not my fault…Not my fault….Blood, the blood…"

Nassiri grinned. "You're nowhere near ready for the truth of your shattered little life. And I love it." She turned from Elsa and the door again.

Footsteps bursting into the room distracted Nass. Kiri ran to them, dropping to her knees besides Elsa. "Elsa, it's okay. It was the past. You're safe now. Look at me."

Elsa grit her teeth and opened one eye, but all she saw was the distorted image of the man who stabbed her. "NO! I won't talk! I'm sorry! Please! Just spare me!" She scrambled back, crawling backwards.

Kiri scowled and turned to Nassiri, narrowing her eyes. "What did you do to her?!"

Nass didn't turn around to properly acknowledge Kiri. "I just shared one of my memories with her. I didn't lay a finger on her. Like I could." She rattled her chains for effect.

Kiri slammed her fist on the door. "You know all too well she isn't ready for answers!"

"Perhaps that's the difference between us." Nassiri replied in a flat, bored tone as she studied her fingernails. "You all shelter her from her life. I tell her the truth. She'll have to find out sooner or later. So I don't shelter and pamper her damaged ass? Sue me. Oh wait, you did worse."

Kiri scowled and returned her attention to Elsa. She was curled up in the corner holding her torso, tears streaming down her face. "It's all over now, Elsa. No one is going to hurt you. Not while I'm here." She picked up Elsa gently and walked form the old castle. 'Someday I'll beat the shit out of that rotten panther woman. For now, I have to take care of Elsa.' She rushed Elsa back to the ice castle, nearly kicking the front doors off the hinges. Astra was alone for once. "Surprised Arcy isn't on your back."

"She's decided to take a nap. But that's not important. What's wrong with Elsa?"

"She went to see Nassiri and that bitch gave her a piece of her memory. I'm not sure which one but I do now it involves threat of violence on talking. Elsa is holding her torso in death grip and I can't get through to her."

Astra nodded. "Set her down on the chair. You be sure the way to the old castle gets destroyed. I'll help Elsa." Kiri left and Astra sat on the arm of the chair behind Elsa. She began to sing a gentle song as she gently stroked Elsa's hair. "~The wind blows its way into your heart, clearing out the doubt. The sun brings its warmth to heal the wounds. Feel the waters cooling stream brush along your skin. Feel your spirit lift again.~"

Elsa's sobbing slowed and calmed, slowly she uncurled. She sighed deeply, wiping a clear trail of snot across her sleeve. "Th-thank you, Astra."

Astra smiled warmly. "It's what I'm here for, child. Why don't you go take a nap? Surely you could use the rest." She gave Elsa a hug and watched as the girl went upstairs. "Poor, sweet, innocent thing."

Kiri had destroyed the path to the old castle, channeling her anger and frustration into it. But she wasn't quite satisfied. In the time she had been there, Elsa had become a daughter to her. And no one messed with her kid. She stormed into Nassiri's cell and slammed the woman into the wall, catching her off guard. "If you ever hurt Elsa again you can be sure I'll end your life with my own hands!"

Nassiri groaned and shook her head as Kiri stepped back. "Aw, is someone getting protective of the little Snowfreak?" Having been caught off guard, the assault had made her fall to the floor after hitting the wall.

Kiri scowled and kicked Nassiri right in her face. She heard a sick crack and smiled. "That's what I'm here for, isn't it? To protect her. From dangers outside her world and inside her world. And if that means I kick your ass to a bloody pulp, than so fucking be it!"

Nassiri looked up, blood trailing down from the bridge of her nose and her nostrils. Her right eye was a dark purple and slowly swelling. "You assholes can't keep me locked up in here forever." She scowled, spitting blood onto Kiri's shoes as she slowly stood. "And I swear to you, when I get out it will the worst living nightmare of a hell anyone has ever known!"

Kiri's response was to punch her in her throat. "I've heard enough." Her pent up anger fueled energy spent, she got out of the cell-triple checking it was locked before she left. To ensure Nassiri couldn't get out, she took the keys with her. "I'll protect Elsa no matter it takes," she vowed as she made her way back to the ice castle.

Nassiri sat on the bed in her cell, growling loudly. "I will make their lives a living nightmare so bad they'll wish it was hell…" The blood dripping to the floor was the only sound after the echo of her menacing threat died down.

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_**Woo! Another chapter done! What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter! Thanks for reading/faving/following!**_


	5. Going Under (Elsa, Alters)

_**I hope you guys are ready for this chapter. I have too much fun tapping into my dark side sometimes XD And funny tidbit. I got stuck until I sneezed when I typed that Elsa sneezed, then the rest just flowed out. Idk, I just thought it was funny to sneeze as I typed the word sneeze**_

_**TW: flashbacks, panic attacks, forced co-hosting, heights**_

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Elsa woke in her room in her mothers house. She stretched and yawned, a migraine pulsating just behind her eyelids. She sat up, vertigo and nausea slamming into her body. When was the last time she was here? Elsa sneezed as she tried to remember. The more she tried to remember, the worse the migraine became so she gave up and got out of bed. With a huge yawn, she walked to the closet to get dressed. A bizarre assortment of clothes greeted her. There were dark gowns, bright sun dresses, hoodies and jeans, sexy clothes and modest clothes. Elsa could guess the sexy clothes were Nassiri's, the dark things were Kiri's and the bright garments were Anna's. But from there she was clueless. She grabbed a green top with sleeves to her elbows, a pair of blue jeans, and a black zip up hoodie. From the bottom of the closet Elsa decided on a modest pair of heels. It would complement the outfit without over doing it. She went to the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth, putting on deodorant before going into the living room. Her mom was in the kitchen, going over papers and running her hand through her hair. Elsa frowned, noticing a thin streak of silver hair shining in her moms mahogany hair. How much stress had she been under lately? And Elsa's problems only added to it. _'She doesn't deserve this,'_ Elsa reflected as she sat on the couch. Guilt settled into her heart as she slouched back. _'It's my fault. If I had just kept myself and my powers under control my parents would be together and my mom wouldn't be so stressed.'_ Elsa sighed and folded her hands on her lap.

"Elsa?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh good, you're back. How are you feeling?" Diane sat by her daughter.

"I honestly feel bad. If it weren't for me and my problems, our lives wouldn't suck so much."

Diane frowned, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Sweetie, don't say that. There's a lot that could have been done differently but it's in the past. We can't let the memories of yesterday stain the possibility of today and tomorrow." When Elsa just sighed, Diane continued. "Nothing is your fault baby girl. And don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise-not even yourself."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do I have to go to school today?"

"I'm afraid so sweetie. You have some exams today."

"Can't you just call me in sick and write to take them or something?"

Diane shook her head. "I wish I could but this is the preparatory exam for the finals. You need to be there, it can't be made up another day."

Elsa sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Alright. I'll just grin and bare it I guess." She looked around, seeing her backpack by the door.

_'I got your homework done for you, Elsa. Don't worry about that.'_

_'Thanks Kiri.'_ That was one less worry on Elsa's part. Kiri was such a good person to look out for her like that. She gathered her things and waited in silence until her mom called her to take her to school. She was silent on the way home, listening to the conversation between Kiri and Astra.

_'Are you sure she cannot escape?'_

_'I took the keys with me when I left. Unless she's willing to hurt herself to escape, Nassiri isn't going anywhere.'_

_'Good. We cannot have the vile woman out in the open. She caused far too much damage. As it is, Arcy is starting to come out of her shell more.'_

_'I can't understand why she chose Arcy to torment over the others.'_

_'Nor can I but what matters now is that everyone is safe.'_

_'If Nassiri somehow manages to escape, I'll lay my life down to keep everyone safe.'_

_'You and I both.'_

Kiri was willing to risk her life to keep everyone safe? It panged Elsa a little to hear that. She didn't want to lose Kiri. She was closest to Kiri out of everyone. Before she knew it, her mom had stopped outside of the school. Had the drive been fast or was Elsa just that out of it while listening to the adults? Elsa shook herself, put on her backpack and got out of the car.

"Do you remember where your classes are?" Diane called from the drivers seat.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Ok honey. Just ask to call me if you need anything."

_'I can't have the one thing I think I need,'_ Elsa thought as she waved her mom off. She took a deep breath and turned to face the building. She made her way inside to her locker when a hand slammed down by her head. A sense of dread coursed through her body alongside her blood.

_"Well well, well, Snow freak."_

Her heart rate picked up and she felt panic. She swallowed her fear and faced him. "Yes, Hans?"

"I haven't forgotten about our night together. I hope you haven't."

Elsa sighed. "I try to."

"Why? It was wonderful." He moved his hand and traced his fingers down her cheek.

The touch sent her blood cold through her veins. Her pupils dilated, flashes of memory playing before her eyes. Words lingered in between them. Screams, struggling, panic and desperation to escape. _"No!...isn't….want… Please!...Hurts…." _Pain seared Elsa form between her legs and she fell to the floor. Her breath came in short spurts, her heart beat racing as if she had run non-stop for miles. Sweat pooled on every inch of her skin. Elsa wrapped her arms around herself. "No, no, no. Please, don't. I don't want this." She shut her eyes tight, only to see his face inches from hers. The pain intensified and she crouched over her legs. "Oh god, the pain…." She barely opened an eye to look at herself, only to see blood pooling out from under her. "Oh god…blood…b-blood…the blood…No…I….I can't…"

Hans took a few steps back, thoroughly confused by how she was acting. "Hey are you alright? Are you getting your period or something?" He went to reach for her but when Elsa saw his hand approach she flung her hand out, a small bit of ice hitting him in his stomach. He fell back, coughing. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'll go." He got to his feet, caught his breath and left Elsa.

_'Elsa, Elsa calm down! It's alright!'_ Astra's voice soothed some of the misfiring emotions.

_'The pain…the blood…the fear…'_

_'It's okay my child. Precious Snowflake, you can overcome this. I believe in you.'_

_'So do I. You're a strong girl. You can do this,_' Kiri joined in the encouragement.

_'Y-you guys…are right. I, I can do this. Just take deep breaths right?'_ Elsa focused her breathing and thoughts on calming down. Her heart slowly calmed itself and the images and words faded. She stood and kept her eyes on the floor, not making eye contact with anyone who had gathered to watch her. She held her chin high and returned to getting her books. The bell rang and Elsa was possibly the fastest person in the hallway.

Nassiri had seen and felt everything from her cell. She grinned sinisterly, loving how all the panic and pain had fed her own mind. "If that's how easy it is to screw with this kid, then escaping this hell will be easy." She turned to the bars and took a deep breath. Nassiri back up as far as she could and began ramming into the bars. She flung her full weight into the time and time again. After a good thirty minutes, Nassiri was covered in bruises but the bars had loosened enough for her to slip through. Nassiri grinned and began her way to the inside of the castle. She could easily find something to pick the locks on her restraints. After scouring the inside, she found a slim enough knife and began picking her locks. After a few minutes, she had completely freed herself. With a fanged grin, Nassiri made her way to the void. "Time to make their lives the worst nightmare they could think of."

Elsa sat in class, it was world history. So far, the rest of the day had gone by without incident. It was a nice surprise. She winced as a blinding migraine suddenly pounded in her skull. Her legs began moving on their own, making her stand. Even when the teacher asked where she was going, Elsa's voice wouldn't speak like she wanted it to. She found herself being walked out of the school and across the west side, where a busy interaction with only two stop signs was located. _'What? Why am I going here? Why am I moving at all? God this headache is blinding.'_

Her feet kept moving, taking her passed the intersection (luckily) unharmed. Elsa could see a bridge in the distance. Fear filled her blood and chased her heart. 'No. Don't tell me I'm going there.' All too soon Elsa found herself standing over the edge of the bridge. She was shaking violently as she was forced to look down over the 30 foot drop into busy traffic. A few cars had pulled over, the drivers on their phones. Surely one of them would call someone to help get Elsa down safely.

_'Let's have some fun.'_

Nassiri's cold voice filled Elsa with panic_. 'H-how…W-why….'_

_'Because I can.'_

Elsa gulped, tears now streaming down her face. "Please, don't. I don't want to die."

"I don't give two dead rat asses what you want. Haven't you learned that?" Elsa's feet inched closer over the edge. "Do you think a fall from this height would kill you or just leave you paralyzed for life?"

"It would kill me!"

"Oh goody, let's do it then!"

"No! Please! Whatever you want, you can have it! Just don't kill me, please!"

"Hmmm…Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

Nassiri paused on that thought. "Nah, you have nothing to offer me."

"What, what about freedom? I can let you out of that cell."

Nassiri's musically cold laugh chilled Elsa's blood. "How do you think I'm doing this? I escaped."

"N….no….." Her thoughts jumbled together as the sights and sounds of the world started spinning around faster than she could focus. Nassiri was free? Hadn't Kiri said she wouldn't escape? Had Kiri lied? Was Astra in on it? But why would they lie? They wouldn't. _'They don't know….'_ The realization crashed into Elsa so hard she took a step back. _'Oh god….I'm, I'm dead…'_ Elsa gulped, a huge lump settling in her throat.

Nassiri only laughed. She forced Elsa forward one step over and let her grab onto the ledge of the bridge for dear life. _'How long can you hold on?'_

The traffic below was now jammed as motorists stopped their cars and all began dialing in the emergency. Elsa was terrified. She dug her hands into the cement as much as she could, her finger tips thinning under the pressure. Her life flashed before her eyes. Not all of it good. Another memory flooded into her mind, making her lose a little bit of grip.

_**Elsa was lying in bed and her father came rushing in. He picked her up and took her to the basement. Once again she was strapped to the table, the sickeningly sweet familiar smell of frankincense and sage overwhelming her nose. Ian began murmuring in another language, holding something small and glowing red in his hand. He lifted her top and pressed the object against her skin, a searing burn sending excruciating pain through Elsa's body. She shrieked only for Ian's other hand to throw wine into it. The taste was horrid and made her want to vomit. The pain and alcohol combined with the incense were too much and she did vomit. Ian pressed the object against her harder, now chanting in the same strange language. Tears streamed down Elsa's face as she felt her skin blister from the heat. Everything went fuzzy and then dark.**_

Elsa, still hanging onto the bridge, felt the pain and dizziness of the memory. That memory faded into another of elementary school kids beating her with rocks and sticks, calling her Snowfreak. Overcome with emotions and extreme pain, her grip loosened. Elsa felt like she was falling into a never ending gap of space as her fingers slipped from the bridge. Nassiri's laugh the only sound that fell with her.

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**_Oh! Cliffhanger! What happens next?! You'll just have to find out in chapter 6 X3 Hope this chapter was good, and that my writing is getting better. Thanks for reading/faving/following_**!


	6. Shards (Elsa, Arcy, Kiri)

_**Ok so just to restate, Arendelles Crimson Eclipse was cancelled since I completely lost the plot line. Now back to your regularly (?) scheduled story. This chapter will be interesting no doubt, as we take a look at how one person can be affected by something but the rest of the system be just fine. So far, 6 months pregnant and all is good. I now return you to your fiction.**_

_**TW: assault, self-harm (?)**_

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Chapter 6-Shards (Elsa, Arcy, Kiri)

Nothingness, numbness, not even gravity as present. Elsa opened her eyes and saw nothing but black_. 'Am I still alive?'_ She couldn't feel anything, couldn't hear or see anything. Even her pulse felt frozen in her veins. _'I must be dead.'_ She wandered, or rather floated around the blank space, unsure what to do. _'Is this what the afterlife is really like? No Heaven or Hell. Man, do most religions have it wrong.' _She floated around, enjoying the free falling in zero gravity feeling. No worries, no life. "I won't have to worry about school, Hans, my supposed disorder, the altars, the other world…I'm finally free." She laid her arms under her head and just let herself float around. "But I won't ever see Mom again…" Severe depression settled over her. "I'm gonna miss her." She heard muffled voices and went in the direction of them. Other spirits maybe? She got as close as she could before the voices finally became clear, although she could only pick up bits and pieces of the conversation.

"…she…alright?" Was that her mom?

"Broken….concussion…..severe….coma…"

"…wake up?"

"Hard….Months…Years….Trauma…bad…"

Who was her mom talking to? And about what? She just shook herself; convinced her mind was just going through the denial part of death.

Arcy felt different somehow, warmer. She didn't feel the pretty lady's wings around her. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a room with a window, a curtain around the bed, a small tv on the wall parallel to her, and she was hooked up to some machines and a dripping bag. "Where is she?"

Diane heard her and looked over the doctors shoulders. "You're awake?! Elsa, are you alright?! What happened?! I was so worried I couldn't sit still. Why didn't you call me?"

Arcy blinked and curled into a ball, defensive. "It's not her fault…She doesn't know…She's sorry…Whatever she did, she's sorry and it won't happen again."

The doctor beside Diane stared bewildered at Elsa. "I really didn't think she'd wake up this soon. Does she always talk like that?"

Diane sighed and improvised. "It's a speech thing she's had since she was born. When something bothers her or upsets her greatly, she'll begin talking like that. I do have her in treatment for it. She only recently began so there won't be any significant improvement yet. Thank you, doctor. I'd like to speak to my daughter alone, if you don't mind." Diane waited until she saw him close the door and walk away. Elsa was in her own room so there was no risk of others overhearing the conversation, either. She turned to her daughter and observed her behavior. It had been a while since this girl had been around. What was her name again?

"Why do you look at her like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like she's done wrong…"

"Oh sweetie she hasn't done anything wrong. It's just been a while since I've last seen her. It's a bit embarrassing but I'm trying to remember her name." Diane had to adjust how she spoke, remembering this altar spoke in 3rd person.

"Why not just ask her?"

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"No, it's ok. It has been a while. Her name is Arcana. You can call me Arcy for a nickname."

"Of course! How could I forget such a pretty name like hers? I'm sorry, Arcy."

"You're ok. Why is she here?"

"I was hoping she could tell me? Does she remember anything?"

Arcy blinked. "Well, she remembers pretty lady and black and red lady talking about the mean lady. Pretty white and red lady told her to hide in her room. So she ran and locked the door, curling up in bed. Pretty red and white lady asked to come in, she let her in. She must have fallen asleep because she woke up here. She misses the soft feathers…"

Diane sat back in a chair. So Arcy didn't know what had happened. Eye witnesses had reported to officers that Elsa had been seen talking to herself and even appeared to bargain with herself before falling. The cops that had gotten there moments before Elsa had let go told Diane that Elsa appeared terrified and thrilled at the same time. It made no sense. Elsa had never before shown thrill at her life being in danger. She got up and stood on the other side of the room, taking out her phone. She flipped through her contacts, stopping at Dina's cell number. Diane's thoughts stilled hearing Dina pick up. "Dr. Dina? It's Diane, Elsa's mother. Is there a way we can come in sooner? We've had a life threatening emergency and I need to know what happened and why." She paused, Dina asking what went on. "I got a call from her school saying she just got up and left. I was on my way to her school when cops stopped me and redirected me to the highway bridge near her school. She had jumped from it and now we're at the hospital."

"Is Elsa there?"

The impulsive answer was yes but under the circumstances and given Elsa's disorder, Diane knew what she really meant. "No, Arcy is here. After I calmed her down, I asked her what she knew. But it seems she was switched to. I think Elsa is in the other world."

"I see. After she's discharged, feel free to come in. Just give me a call ahead of time so I can let my receptionist know to let you in. Hopefully we can figure this out before anything else happens. Is Elsa doing alright?"

Diane sighed heavily. "She's broken some ribs, suffered a severe concussion, there's trauma to her hips and her elbow was shattered. The doctor said she would be in a coma and in the middle of the conversation is when Arcy spoke up."

"Ah yes, an altar wouldn't be affected by what happened to the body if they weren't fronting or co-hosting. So of course Arcy would be able to talk and maybe even move. Though from what you described, it sounds like she might be in crutches or even a wheelchair for a while. It's possible that Elsa herself is in the other world in a coma while the others are able to function perfectly fine. It has to do with the wiring in the brain of what's called the system in D.I.D. I can explain it all when you come in. I hope her recovery will be smooth."

"Thank you, Dina. I'll call you as soon as she's cleared to leave." Diane closed her phone and sat by Arcy again. "After we can leave here, would she like to see Dina? Does Arcy remember Dina?"

Arcy tilted her head. "She thinks so. She's the lady who takes notes and is real nice about everything right?"

"That's right."

"Okay then, she wouldn't mind. Why does her body hurt?"

Diane frowned. "Because she had a nasty fall. She hurt her head, hips, elbow and ribs. She's going to be here for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Until her body and head feel better. And after that, she might need to move around on crutches or in a wheelchair. But she'll be alright. The doctors will take really good care of her. They won't let anything happen to her." Diane stroked Arcy's hair. "And I'm here for her, too if she needs anything. Don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

Arcy paused for a few moments. "Can she have some paper and crayons? She wants to draw."

"I'll go down to the gift shop and get her some. Sit here and rest, okay?"

Arcy nodded and watched as Diane left_. 'What does mom lady mean nasty fall? Did she somehow hurt herself coming here? Did someone hurt her? She'll be on crutches or in a wheelchair…It sounds scary. She doesn't like it…It isn't her fault, she didn't ask for this.'_

_'It's alright Arcana.'_ Astra's voice soothed the growing feeling of sadness_. 'It's not her fault, she's right. Just trust me when I say that she's safe here now. No one is going to hurt her.'_

_'Pretty white, where are you? She can hear you but not see you.'_

_'When Arcy is there, she can only hear pretty white. But don't worry. Pretty white is always with her and will always protect her.'_

_'Thank you pretty white.'_

_'It's what I'm here for. Just do whatever it is she's asked to do, alright? Can Arcana be the big, brave girl I know she is and do that?'_

"For pretty white, she'll try."

"Thank you Arcana."

"No, thank you pretty white for making her feel safe."

"Anytime, child."

Arcy heard footsteps and turned to the door. Diane returned with a pack of crayons and a notebook. "Thank you, mom lady. She'll feel much better after she draws."

"Whatever you need to feel better." Diane gave her the supplies and sat by her. While Arcy drew morbid scenes of a lady with red hair standing over her with lightning all around, Diane sat back and rubbed her face. This was almost too much to handle sometimes. But Elsa and the others needed her so she would just deal with it. For her daughters sake, she would deal with it.

Elsa had gotten used to this black floating void. It reminded her of the void when she went to the inner world. But unlike the void, there was no light anywhere to be seen, no sense of being pulled one way or another. It was just suspended animation-like. Death was turning out to be fun but boring. Anti-gravity but nothing to do with it. Where was the fun in that? She sighed and floated around some more until she heard a laugh that chilled her. Had Nassiri died with her? Well, if Elsa had died, the others had too, right? But wouldn't that mean they'd go away? It had to work like that. So why was she hearing Nassiri's laugh? Elsa moved herself away from the sound, a little unnerved by it. No matter where she went, she heard that cold, musical laughter. "Where is it coming from?!"

"Don't you get it yet? You're trapped here with me."

That voice nearly froze her heart. "Trapped here? Where? In death?"

"Psh, if that's what you want to believe, I'll let you have that one bit of comfort."

"Well if you're so smart, where is this?"

"Nope, I'm not saying. I like your idea better. It makes things all the more fun." Nassiri casually walked into Elsa's area. She wore a skin tight dark violet gown that was to her knees in front but had a train in back. Her black stiletto boots clicked in the silence, her black wings shimmering despite the lack of light. Her long, fiery hair hung loosely around her waist. Her nails were more like claws as they scratched against something invisible. "Now this is my idea of having fun."

Elsa's heart sank as Nassiri drew closer. She backed up until she couldn't anymore. Why didn't Elsa realize that her dying with Nassiri next to her would mean that Nassiri would come with her to wherever she ended up after death?

Kiri paced the living room multiple times, a groove already setting in from her path. "I just don't understand it! Those bars were reinforced and locked! How was she able to just break through them like that?"

Astra sat on the chair, calmly writing. "It doesn't matter how. She's out. Elsa is in a coma and since Nassiri was co-fronting with Elsa, that means Nassiri is with her as well. We have to get to Elsa and protect her. But how can we get to her if her mind is out of our reach?" Astra rubbed the pencil eraser on her forehead, biting her lip as she tried to think.

"I don't know and it's pissing me off that I wasn't able to do anything!"

"You wouldn't have been able to. Nassiri somehow gained gate control. We have to take that from her and keep Nassiri in that coma mind set while getting Elsa out of it. As it is there's no telling what Nassiri is planning on doing."

Kiri stopped in her pacing. "Of course! It's so simple! Why didn't I think of it sooner?"

"What?"

"We are part of Elsa. If we manage to get unconscious ourselves, we can reach her!"

"I'm not quite sure that's how it works," Astra tilted her head.

"It's the only lead I've got." Before anything else could be said, Kiri went to the kitchen and took a frying pan out from under the cabinet. "I'm coming Elsa. I vowed to protect you no matter what." With a deep breath, Kiri began to beat herself over the head with the frying pan. Astra, shocked, got up to stop her. But the determined woman was on the floor unconscious and bleeding before Astra could stop her.

"Good luck." Astra whispered, picking up Kiri to tend to her wounds.

Nassiri had cornered Elsa and pinned her on the floor. "Look at you. Such a pretty little face." She grabbed Elsa's face between the claws of her right hand. "Wouldn't it be a shame if anything were to happen to it? Oh whoopsie!" She jerked Elsa's head to the side hard enough so her claws left bloody trails. "I can see why my Hans would be attracted to you."

"Please, just stop!" Elsa's voice shook as she pleaded with this insane angel. "I won't go near him! I won't even dare be in the same building as him! Just please stop!"

"You said those same words to him when he was trying to show his love for me," Nass grinned. "Too bad he couldn't hear you." She was about claw Elsa again when a sound caught her attention.

"I'm back, you bitch! And you better get off of Elsa before I rip you apart with my bare hands," Kiri stalked toward them, a deathly glare on her face. She glanced at Elsa, who was paralyzed in terror and crying. "Or I'll just skip to ripping your flesh apart."

"Now this is where things get interesting." Nassiri, intrigued, got off Elsa and stood face to face with Kiri. "Let the games begin."

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_**Another cliffhanger! XD Sometimes I think you guys hate when I do this to you . But uh, at least it leaves you in suspense to wonder what will happen next. That was one hell of a chapter wasn't it? Don't you just HATE Nassiri? Cause you're supposed to XD I make people you love to hate :) Anyway, that was all for this chapter. Hope it was another great chapter for you guys. I'm back in the flow of my writing. As always, thanks for reading/faving/following and I'll see you in the next chapter!**_


	7. Fire and Ice (Nass,Kiri,Arcy,Elsa,Astra)

_**I would just like to remind those who are just finding this fic on their own, that it is a SEQUEL to "The Storm Inside of Me" and to read that first. Aside from that, to the person who left the review saying that my fic rivaled every other fic and took readers hostage from chapter one, thank you very much. That was very flattering, considering the Frozen fanfics I have as competition. Thank you all for your amazing reviews! And special thanks to those who left reviews on "The Storm Inside of Me" that nominated it for an I.C.E award :D You guys rock! Without further ado, chapter 7!**_

_**TW: blood, fist fights, panic attacks, co-hosting (?)**_

_**Vocab: fragment-a not fully formed alter, just a piece of the host that has broken off but not become someone else yet**_

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Chapter 7-Fire and Ice (Nass, Kiri, Arcy, Elsa, Astra)

Arcy tilted her head, hearing voices. One was scared and another sounded mad. There was a third that sounded amused. It scared her and she wasn't sure what to think. The voices sounded familiar, at least two of them. The third was a mystery to her. She drew out what she was hearing: two women arguing over someone, one was really mad. What else could she do? The yelling was scaring her and hearing the girl crying made her feel somehow guilty. Her art showed depictions of women arguing, things breaking and a girl in a corner covering her head.

"She's my little Snowfreak. I was here first."

"We were here at the same time Nassiri."

"So?" Nassiri casually walked toward Kiri, swaying her hips with each step. "Even as a fragment I had more control than you. I even had influence on you." She grinned. "You couldn't do anything to protect her then and you can't now. She's mine."

Kiri took off her shoe and hit Nassiri with it. "I'm here now and I can protect her. The past is in the past."

Nassiri flinched from the blow and quickly caught Kiri's wrist before she could be hit again. "Is it now? Isn't her past, the reason we exist? It seems the past is very much alive." She twisted Kiri's wrist back and snapped it, grinning wider as Kiri screamed in pain. "Oh, your pain feeds me."

"You sick, twisted freak!" Kiri growled between gritted teeth. "I don't care how we came to be. We're here to protect her!"

"You weak others might be, but I'm the hate, the vengeance, the bloodlust in Elsa that drives her dark side. I am her dark side."

Kiri had heard enough. She swiveled around and launched herself at Nassiri. She pinned the insane woman down and began punching her in the throat and head. "I swore to protect Elsa no matter what!" Her knuckles started getting sore as she kept beating Nassiri.

The angel raised her leg and managed to bend it enough to knee Kiri's back. It knocked Kiri forward over Nassiri's shoulder. She grabbed hold of her black hair and smashed her head into the ground, rolling out from under her. "I don't care what you vowed woman. I do what I want for my own means and no one can stop me." As Kiri was getting up, she slammed her foot onto Kiri's back. "I despise all of you people! Every single person in existence is only around for me to manipulate as I want." She ground the heel of her boot into Kiri's back.

"Gah! I don't…give a shit….how you see people…." She pushed up with all of her strength and made Nassiri stumble back. Kiri pushed aside her own back wounds and moved to Elsa. "Elsa, you need…to run….Anywhere, but here."

Elsa, panicked and terrified, shook violently. "I don't….Where…There's nowhere! I can't escape!"

Kiri shot a blast of snow at Nassiri to throw her further away by a few feet. "Even if it's just a few feet away," she brushed hair from Elsa's face and dried the tears on her cheeks. "I care about you and don't want you to get hurt. You can do this, I believe in you."

"How touching. It makes me sick," Nassiri approached, hovering over Kiri's shoulder. "You can't escape, Elsa. Everywhere you go, I'm there."

"SHUT UP!" Elsa screamed, covering her ears. "You're not me! None of you are! I'm only me and all of this is just a sick and twisted nightmare!" She scrambled to her feet and ran from them, stumbling a few steps.

"Oh don't run," Nass mocked sounding sad. "We were just starting to play our game."

"Oh, no you don't!" Kiri jumped and grabbed Nassiri's feet as she got airborne, slamming the woman to the ground. "Whether she thinks this is just a dream or not, I won't let you hurt her. We know what's real and that's what counts right now." She sat on Nassiri's legs and dug her nails in, leaving bloody trails.

"If she thinks it's a dream," Nass squirmed out from under Kiri, kicking her in the mouth before getting up. "Then it's all the more reason to frighten her. She believes she'll wake up soon." Nassiri swung a hard punch at Kiri's throat. She wiped off the blood that was coughed onto her. "I have my fun and then get on my way to ruin her life." Nassiri spread her right wing and spun around, knocking Kiri onto her back at least 10 feet away. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she leapt to her feet and got airborne once again.

Kiri scrambled to her feet and ran after Nassiri, trying to jump and grab her. "You bitch, I will stop you!" Despite the blood dripping from her back, head and mouth, she kept chase.

Nassiri purposefully flew just out of reach. She only laughed. "Say what you want, but I have the wings here and you don't."

"I'll get to you somehow!" Kiri hopped a few steps, taking her other shoe off to throw it at Nassiri. She was about to try jumping again when a streak of white blurred passed her vision. "What the hell?!"

"You find Elsa! I'll deal with this disgrace of an angel!"

Kiri stopped running and leaned on her knees. "Ok," she panted, "good luck Astra!"

"Don't wish me luck. Wish me success."

"Alright well, uh, good success?"

"Enough talk!" Astra flew in a blurred spiral, Nassiri's wings in her hands. "Find Elsa and take her from this place! I'll keep Nassiri here as long as I can." A loud and gut wrenching series of crunches could be heard. Astra felt Nassiri's wing bones popping and decided to act. Using all her strength and momentum, Astra hurled Nassiri backwards over her head but kept hold of her wings. Only when she felt the bones cracking did she let the woman fall. "Go!"

"Right!" Kiri finished catching her breath and went in the direction Elsa had run. It was easy to find, as a path of frost led away from them. She ran as fast as she could in the direction it led, relieved to find Elsa in her own corner of frost. "Elsa, it's alright. Here, I'll lay on my stomach with my hands under me." Kiri did so and looked up at Elsa. "I'm here to help you. All I want to do is take you somewhere safe. Would you go with me?"

Frightened Elsa, surrounded by suspended snowflakes and frost, looked to Kiri. "Where even is this? I can't take it anymore! It's my fault….my fault…All my fault…."

"It's not your fault Elsa. Everything that happened or will happen is not your fault. You have no reason to blame yourself." What was that thing that Astra did to soothe Arcy? She bit her lip, trying to remember. Slowly, Kiri sat up next Elsa and wrapped her arms around. She lowered her voice to a soft, motherly tone. "It's okay to be scared and feel like you can't do anything. It's only natural." She slowly stroked Elsa's hair. "All those emotions are just part of being alive. I only want to take you somewhere to calm down in safety."

Elsa clung onto Kiri and wept. "Just get me out of this nightmare!"

Kiri nodded. "We can do it together. Follow me." She slowly stood and helped Elsa to her feet. "Do you want to walk or no?" Elsa shook her head so Kiri carried Elsa on her back. She wandered for a bit until there was a tiny bit of light. The only way out, Kiri bolted for it. She heard swearing and bones cracking behind her and put a hand on Elsa's head. "Don't pay attention to those sounds. We're leaving them behind."

After a blinding flash and a heavy slam in the stomach, Kiri opened her eyes. She was lying in her room in the castle. Panicked, she looked around. Kiri heaved a sigh of relief seeing Elsa half slumped on the bed beside her. "Oh thank god." Kiri's head suddenly felt like it would split open at a diagonal slant. She reached up and felt stitches near her right temple, remembering she had conked herself a few good times with a frying pan to reach Elsa. Wait, so if that was how she had gotten there, how had Astra gotten there? Kiri shook her head, deciding to be grateful she had and not question it. Ignoring her pulsing migraine and own nausea, Kiri took Elsa to her room and tucked her into bed. "I'll stand watch over you," she whispered as she stood up. "No one will hurt you if I can help it."

Arcy was lying in the hospital bed, drawing fervently. She saw pretty white and mean black and red fighting. There was lots of sticky stuff everywhere and both were hurting. Diane was watching as Arcy drew out different things. "Arcy, is this what's happening now?"

"She hears it and this is what she imagines. It' scares her. Pretty white is nice and lets her pluck feathers. Mean red and black hurts her and says very bad things. She makes her do things she shouldn't and say things she doesn't want to say. It's all her fault…"

Diane examined the drawings. A little confused. Other than wing color, the two women were identical. "Are the wings how she tells the two apart?"

"That's how. And how they talk. Pretty white speaks softly and always in a way she understands. Mean read and black talks in a weird way and always seems to mock her and others." Arcy frowned. "No, it hurts…Her head hurts…So bad…" Arcy curled up and covered her head.

Diane, unsure what else to do, put her arms around Arcy, stroking her hair. "It's ok, Arcy, it's ok."

Astra swore under her breath, bleeding from her stomach and a head wound. But she wouldn't back down. "I won't let you escape this mental prison called comatose."

Nassiri grinned around a swollen lip and black eye. Her wings were broken, covered in her own blood. But regardless of losing flight, she could still kick this nuisances ass. "Oh I'll escape, even if it's in a trail of blood and bones." She leapt at Astra and pinned her down, biting into her twins neck.

Astra resisted the urge to scream out in pain and instead put all her weight into rolling Nassiri off of her. She tore off part of her top and wiped her neck, ignoring the painful burn and sting of the bite. "It will be by your blood and bones that I shall leave." Astra spread her wings and lunged at Nassiri. "You will never escape this place even if I have to use your own claws and bones to nail you to the floor!" She dug her claws into Nassiri's eyes and yanked downward. The woman screamed and writhed in pain. Astra wasn't proud of what she was doing, but it had to be done. She was the gatekeeper and had to get that back form Nassiri-even if she had to dirty her hands. As it was, Astra had a head wound, stomach wound, lacerations in her chest, a possibly infected bite on her neck and a fractured ankle.

"I don't," Nass spat blood onto Astra, "need sight to fight you. I can still smell your sickeningly sweet sugar cookie and lavender scent." Nass reached up and dug her nails into Astra's chest, ripping in and out. She slid out from under Astra and grabbed one of her ankles, dragging her about and throwing her as a loud crack sounded.

Astra hit the wall opposite, a few wing bones breaking. Regardless, she lunged and took hold of Nassiri's wrists. Ignoring the screaming pain in her ankles nerves, she smashed her wrists down. She felt bones cracking and ignored the sick feeling it gave her. "You have no rights to torment Elsa or anyone else! And I'll see to it that you don't." Astra pinned down Nassiri, placed her knees on Nass's arms and jammed her elbows into Nassiri's rib cage. Naturally she coughed and lurched in pain as bones pierced her organs. Astra wiped her face and stood, watching as Nassiri struggled to breathe. "That should do it," she panted.

"You…only made…"Nassiri coughed up fluids. "Things worse….You'll see…" She couldn't see through the bloody slashes in her eyes. She sat up slowly, blood dripping from her head, eyes, nose, mouth and upper body. Her legs were badly slashed and her wings were broken-covered in both her blood and Astra's. "Go now. See what you've done."

Astra retied her ponytail and (painfully) flew off to the tiny light, a sinking feeling taking hold of her heart. Hopefully she hadn't caused any damage to anyone. But the way Nassiri spoke was ominous, almost like she had and it was all part of a vicious plan.

Arcy was curled up on the bed, blood dripping from her nose and holding her torso. "Pain….She can't breathe….Lungs….pain, she can't….Drowning…Her back, it hurts!"

Diane immediately smashed the call nurse button. The nurses rushed in and Diane explained that her daughter was having trouble breathing and complained of chest pains. The immediately rushed her off to be x-rayed and mri/cat scanned. Diane was clueless about what had happened. She looked to the drawings left on the table. The women were fighting in some and in the last the white winged angel seemed to have won. But the expression on the black winged angel disturbed Diane, almost as if she had planned to lose. What exactly was going on in that inner world?

"Pretty white, where are you? It hurts her…"

"I'm here child. What's wrong?"

"It hurts…Her chest, breathing hurts her…And her head….She can't think…"

Astra felt immense guilt wash over her. Why hadn't she thought of the possibility that Nassiri might somehow force a physical connection to another altar during the fight? "I'm so sorry child. It's my fault."

"What? No, it's not pretty white lady's fault. She never hurt her."

"No, I didn't hurt her but I did beat up mean red and black. She made her feel that. I'm sorry child."

"Mean red and black is who got hurt?"

"That's right."

"Is she gone for good?"

"I can only hope so…"

"Then it's alright. Pretty white was only trying to help right? She forgives you."

Astra's eyes filled with tears. "She's such a sweet girl! Pretty white lady thanks her very much."

Arcy only smiled, unaware that the entire conversation between her and Astra had been spoken aloud. The paramedics just dismissed it as delusions brought on by severe pain and took her in for the exams.

Diane paced in Elsa's room, uncertain of what was going on. After an hour and thirteen minutes, Elsa was wheeled back in. The nurse told her there were no abnormalities and the pain was probably just a delayed reaction to waking up so soon from the coma. As a result of waking up so soon, her body hadn't had time to recover from the injuries. It made sense to Diane but still she wondered. Wouldn't the pain come almost immediately after Arcy had come to front and not out of nowhere nearly an hour later? She smoothed her hair and sat by Arcy as the girl slept. At least she looked more at peace then she had since first coming to front and waking up Elsa's body. She gently kissed her daughters forehead and whispered, "Elsa, wherever you are in there, I hope you're alright." Hopefully Elsa would be discharged soon. She sat back in the chair and closed her eyes for a short nap. Before she drifted off, one thought went through her mind: how would she break all this to Ian? After all, he had a right to know.

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_**Woo! Talk about a chapter am I right? Is Nassiri gone for good or will she return? Is Elsa having a relapse in her treatment? Will she wake up from her coma or be in the inner world indefinitely? What will Elsas psych, Dina, make of these new developments in her patient? All will be revealed in later chapters. Hopefully you enjoyed this latest chapter. Thanks for reading/faving/following and I'll see you guys in chapter 8!**_


	8. Reveal (Diane)

_**Sorry for the wait on another update! Life gets in the way. Anyway, for the one who asked, I'm having a girl. Victoria Raven is due the week of October 23rd. Though in reality she chooses when to force her way out XD Anyway, here's chapter 8! Let's see what happens!**_

_**TW: none**_

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Chapter 8-Reveal (Diane)

Arcy was sound asleep but Diane couldn't even calm her thoughts. She paced the room, wondering how on Earth she would break the news to Ian. Diane decided to speak with the doctors to find out how long her daughter (or was it daughters since there was more than one girl in her head?) would be in the hospital. He was sitting at his desk, reviewing documents on his computer. "Um, excuse me?"

He looked up from the monitor. "Yes?"

"I was wondering how long Elsa would be in here for?"

"Ah yes, just a moment Ms. Delanor and I'll be able to tell you." He typed what Diane presume to be Elsa's name into the computer. "Ah, here we are. Elsa Delanor. Checked in for head trauma, fractured ribs, broken elbow and displaced hip. She will be here for at least 3 days for observation to ensure there's no delayed swelling in her brain."

Diane sighed lengthily. "Thank you." She walked back into her daughter's room and sighed. One way or another, she would tell Ian. She grabbed her car keys and left the room, heading into the elevator to get to the bottom floor. Her heart was pounding faster with each step she took out of the building and to her car. How would she tell him? How would he react? Would he accept blame or try to say Elsa was faking it? Would he even still accept her as his daughter? Diane sighed as she sat in her car for a few moments. She chewed her bottom lip, thinking about how she would even bring it up.

"'So you know how Elsa seemed to act so much differently after something bad happened? Yeah, funny story about that.' Psh, that sounds lame. 'So, we may have done more harm than good in dealing with Elsa's powers.'" Diane paused. How private would their conversation be? Could she start it like that? Probably not. "'Ian, things are worse with Elsa than we first thought they were-aside from…that.'" Diane shook her head, put the keys in the ignition and started the car. She'd figure out how she would approach the subject once she was there. The drive to Arendelle Penitentiary seemed longer than it actually was. The road stretched on for miles and the radio only sounded like static. After what felt like hours (which was actually 33 minutes,) she had arrived in the prison's lot. She showed her ID to the security guard and was let through. Diane found a place in the shade, staring at the clock. It was 3:42 p.m. _'I can do this. I have to. It's his fault. Mostly his fault, anyway. I could have done more to protect her….No, this isn't the time for retrospection. Now is the time for moving forward and being the best mother I can to Elsa.'_ She heaved a huge sigh and walked into the building. Security once again ID'ed her, emptied and checked her purse. Diane set her car keys and everything in her pockets into a bin and walked through a metal detector. Once she was cleared, she gathered her belongings and checked in with the visitors desk. After a few moments, she was called into the supervised visitation area. Diane breathed deeply, seeing Ian at a table near the back of the room. Ankle shackles and handcuffs were on him, a guard standing watch from the opposite wall. His hair was half gray, deep wrinkles under his eyes. He kept fiddling with his hands, like he always nervous about something. He seemed to have aged in the 2 weeks he had been incarcerated.

_'Well, here goes everything.'_ Diane approached and sat at the table. "Ian, we need to talk about Elsa."

Ian looked up with dark eyes. "How has she been?"

Diane ruffled her hair and put her hands on her lap. "Things are worse then we thought with her."

Worry plagued his eyes now. "What's going on? She isn't hurt, is she? Tell me our daughter is okay."

Diane felt immense guilt and shook her head. "It depends on how you define alright."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in dealing with her problem," Diane motioned her hands as if tossing confetti over her shoulder, "we created an entirely new one. A more complex one."

"What do you mean?"

How could Diane word it? Ian didn't cast off what a medical professional diagnosed, but this seemed a bit farfetched. She sighed and just spat it out. "Elsa isn't really Elsa. She's herself plus others."

Ian's eyes stared blankly at her. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

Diane tapped her fingertips together. "Well, I'm still getting acquainted with it myself, but she has a mental disorder form all the, uh, things, she went through in her early years."

"Diane, stop answering in riddles and just tell me what's going on with Elsa."

"She has Dissociative Identity Disorder."

Ian stared blankly for a few seconds. "Wait, what? I've never heard of that."

"Neither had I until I took her to a psychiatrist. Her memory lapses were getting worse and she kept acting stranger and stranger. The psychiatrist performed a few tests, had her write some things down and even got taped evidence of Elsa's disorder."

"Okay that doesn't tell me anything. What is this Dissociation Identity thing?"

Diane rubbed her eyes with one hand, the other hand's fingers tapping on the table. "I'll summarize what I was told. If a child is put through enough trauma as a child, they tend to…" She rolled her hands one over the other, searching for the words. "They basically fall into a separate world in their mind. As the trauma goes on, another person created form the child's mind comes in to take the trauma instead of the child."

Ian folded his hands under his mouth, his eyebrows dropping to a contemplative and agitated position. "So, in trying to help her, we hurt her more?"

"Yeah, pretty much. She's already been hospitalized a few times. She's there now, actually. One of the people in her mind took control and made her jump from the high way bridge by the local high school."

His expression quickly shifted to panic and concern. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She broke some bones and had a concussion but she'll be fine."

"That's a relief. Ok, back to her disorder. What do you mean took control?"

"Well, in Elsa's case, there are 8 people in her mind. And any time Elsa leaves for her separate, or inner world, one those 8 people can take control of her body. Even if Elsa is in control, someone else can move her as well. Think of it like…like…like a puppet! When her and someone else are in her body, they fight for control." She was getting a blank stare from Ian. "Maybe you'd just do some research into it. As it is, I'm still trying to understand it myself. I've met Arcana, Kiri, Anna and I think there was a mute one whose name I never got. So of the 8, I only know 4, I think." She scratched her head, feeling drained.

"No way this could be true. Elsa is just trying this for attention."

"Ian, did our vibrant little Elsa ever once show signs that she wanted to kill herself or make our lives worse? No. She was the sweetest and most vibrant little girl we knew, right?"

"Yeah, but she's a teenager now. It could be an act of rebellion."

"Ian, this started way before she was a teenager. Don't you remember the time in the backyard with, well, the stuff? And her just laughing at us?"

Ian chewed his lip for a few seconds. "Oh. Yeah, I remember that. But I thought she was just-"

"No, that was one of the people her broken mind had created. Do some research into this. You'll see it's a real thing. And we caused it. Though it's mostly your fault for not listening to her cries when she was a child."

"Don't go putting blame on me for all of this! You didn't stop me."

"I tried to, you moron! But you refused! You even threatened me a few times! It's mostly your fault that our sweet girl is broken. So do research and when you realize I'm right, I may bring her here to visit you." Diane didn't feel like arguing. She grabbed her purse and left the building. Sadly, that had gone pretty much how she had expected it to. Naturally, Ian would try to make the blame equal instead of realizing most of it was his fault. If only Diane could turn back time, she'd prevent Ian form ever laying a hand on Elsa. There was no "saving" going on back then. Just abuse. Only now Diane realized it too late. Yes, she held blame for not trying to do more to stop Ian, but he was the main cause. Making her way to the car, she felt a slight weight had been lifted form her shoulders. In the end, all she cold do was look out for Elsa and be there for her and any others who needed her.

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_**Well, Diane finally told Ian what's up. Too bad he was stupid about it. I know the chapter was short but I couldn't think of anything more to add to it. I'll have more for you guys the next chapter! Thanks for reading/faving/following!**_


	9. Underneath (Arcy, Kiri)

_**Sorry to keep you guys waiting for an update. I haven't been feeling too well lately, so I put my energy into typing up my novel. I'll share that after the chapter if you guys want to see what else I come up with outside fanfics. Anyway, this chapter is a relatively easy one, as I'm way tired and my hips/back are killing me. Just two more months and Victoria will be out. Enough babbling, onto the chapter!**_

_**TW: none**_

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Chapter 9-Underneath (Arcy, Kiri)

Diane visited her daughter on a regular basis, trying not to miss a day after she got done working. On the third day, Elsa was released from the hospital and went home with crutches. Diane showed Arcy how to walk in them and that the height on the crutches could be adjusted until it was comfortable. Arcy was a bit wobbly on the crutches at first but by the time they got to the parking lot she was doing well. Diane still wasn't sure how well this little girl would do in high school. Maybe one of the others would come and take her place? She drove them home and helped Arcy to her room, where she laid down on a comfy bed and promptly fell asleep for a nap. As Diane went to the living rom, she got her cell phone from her purse and dialed Dina. "Dina, it's Diane. Elsa's been released. When can we come in?"

There was the sound of rustling papers on the other end. "We can do tomorrow at 10. Would that work?"

"I'll call her out of school and bring her. Hopefully we can find out what happened."

"Let's hope so. For now, just keep whoever is fronting calm and safe."

"That I can do."

Arcy walked back to the castle without the crutches. Didn't she need them to walk though? Maybe that was just while she was with her mom. She shrugged and saw Astra walking back as well. "Nia!" Arcy ran and jumped onto Astra's back.

Astra was slightly surprised by her sudden appearance. "Arcana! There she is! Is she alright? Where has she been?" She looked over her shoulder at the cute little girl.

"She's alright. She's been with Mom. She walks with crutches with Mom though, cause she had a nasty fall. Bones got hurt and so did her head. The hospital was alright but today she allowed to go home. Mom has been real nice. She lets her draw whatever she wants!"

"Well I'm glad she's alright. I was worried about her."

"You were?"

"Why wouldn't I be? " Astra smiled and reached back to ruffle Arcy's hair. "Let's go to the castle. Have you eaten yet?"

"She had some nasty hospital food but nothing else."

"Well then let's get you to some real food." Astra smiled as Arcy clung to her back.

Kiri rubbed her head. She looked around, seeing she had been chosen to front. Well, at lest she could clear up any mess. Sudden pain shot through her leg and arm, making her look down. There was a brace on her left arm and cast on her right leg. Is this what Nassiri had done when she escaped? God was it painful. She slowly sat up, letting the nausea and headache ease and dissipate before moving. After she felt better, Kiri eased herself off the bed and grabbed the crutches to leave the room. She hobbled to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Feeling better?"

"I am, thanks Diane," Kiri answered. "It's Kiri. Arcana seems to have gone to the inner world."

"oh. Well hello Kiri. How are things?"

Kiri sighed. "Not so good. Elsa is out cold and she won't wake up."

"Oh dear," Diane came in and sat beside her, eating a bowl of cereal. "That's not good. The doctor said Elsa would be in a coma. I thought when Arcy fronted that perhaps Elsa was awake and just hiding."

"Nope. Elsa herself is in a coma. What happened?"

Diane sighed as she swallowed a mouthful. "I'm not sure. I was at work when I got a call from Elsa's principle. She had started walking out of class and eventually the building. I was on my way when a police man pulled me over and led me to where Elsa had been seen. She was on the high bridge half a mile from the school. Before I could get out of the car, Elsa had slipped from the bridge and fallen to the ground." She avoided eye contact, staring at her cereal.

"I'm sorry, Diane. It must have been heart wrenching to see your only child…." Kiri didn't finish her sentence. The ending was implied. She put a hand on Diane's shoulder. "But rest assured all of us will keep Elsa safe as best as we can. I promise you, we will."

Diane nodded slightly. "I just wish I knew what was going on in her head and what she was thinking…"

Kiri sighed. "Diane, I can tell you now that Elsa wasn't in control of her body. It was a dangerous who Astrania and I had locked up. Somehow she escaped. But she's been dealt with, so it won't happen again." _'At least I hope not.'_

Diane finished her cereal, set the bowl on the table and rubbed her eyes. "What can I do to help my little girl? I feel so lost."

Kiri frowned. "The most important thing you can do for Elsa is just be supportive and listen. She needs you more then you know."

"Alright." She paused. "I told Ian what's going on. He didn't believe me. Like I suspected, he thinks Elsa is just faking it for attention. I tried to explain it as best as I could but I didn't get anywhere."

"Sometimes people don't want to think a condition like Elsa's is real. His biggest reason for denying it is he probably doesn't want to accept most of the blame for it. Don't let it get to you. You need to focus on Elsa and helping her recover from all of this."

"I'm doing my best," Diane mumbled.

"And that's all Elsa could ask for."

Diane sat up and looked to Kiri. "Thanks, Kiri. Hearing that really helps. I've felt so…lost and clueless in how to support her. But just hearing that my best is good enough to Elsa is a relief."

"She couldn't have a better mother." Kiri stretched and twitched. "This bloody cast is so itchy! Someone needs to invent a type of tool that lets you scratch under a cast." A slight smile touched Kiri's lips as Diane laughed.

"Wish I could help with that but the most I can do is get you something to eat. What would you like to eat?"

Kiri blinked. Thinking about it, she didn't remember the last time she had a full meal. "Something that's filling. I can't remember the last time I had a meal."

Diane got up and took her bowl to the kitchen. "I'll make some chicken salad for you, then. I might regret asking, but what's this dangerous altar like?"

Kiri sighed. "She's pure, twisted evil. All she wants is to cause chaos and ruin Elsa's life. If it wasn't for her black wings and sleazy clothing, I wouldn't be able to tell her apart from Astrania. But Nassiri, that's her name, is extremely dangerous. She is the one who was in control when Hans was here that night. She just wants to hurt everyone-including the other altars."

"How many of you are there?"

"For now there are 6 of us. If Elsa keeps fracturing form reality though, it's possible more could be made."

"Six? That's a lot." Diane began the cooking process for the chicken salad. "Do you know everyone's name?"

"Well, of course you know me, Arcana and Anna. There's also Ayalah the mute, Nassiri and Astrania. That's all of us for now. Nassiri is the only one who's dangerous."

"Are you guys safe from her in the inner world?"

"Well, she's trapped in the coma void where I rescued Elsa from, so hopefully for now we're safe. Astrania is usually the one to deal with Nassiri. I don't understand how those two are twins. Astrania is so dedicated to safety and everyone's happiness and then there's Nassiri, the polar opposite."

Diane frowned. "Well, all this roots from Elsa herself, right? Maybe when she wakes up you could ask her?"

Kiri shook her head as Diane brought in her food. "Thanks," she smiled. "Asking Elsa could be dangerous. With a disorder like hers, there are often chunks of memory missing or blacked out as a defense and protection mechanism. If she were to think about it and end up having a flashback of a memory she blocked, it could result in her getting worse. Memories are something to ease into."

"I see. Well, for now all we can do is get to the next appointment with Dina tomorrow."

"Agreed." Kiri nodded. She began eating and the t.v became the only sound in the room as Diane took in everything she had been told.

* * *

_**Short but like I said, I haven't been feeling well lately. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading/faving/following! My books are on the site fictionpress, under the same pen name. Here are the book names:**_

_**Demon Diaries (book 1), Goddess Diaries (book 2)**_

_**Go ahead and give those a read if you want, maybe give a review or whatever. My book series is in book 6 and I'm posting it all online. Tedious work. I blabber. Thanks for joining me for this new chapter and thanks if you take a look at my book.**_


	10. Ultraviolet (Kiri)

_**I'm so horrible not updating this as much as I used to. I got caught up posting my novel. That and as my due date gets closer, my focus is shifting from writing to getting things ready for Victoria. I'll do my best to update more often ^^''**_

_**TW: none**_

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Chapter 10-Ultraviolet (Kiri)

The day dragged on. Elsa had been excused from school until her injuries had healed so that was one less stressor for each alter. The teachers would email the lessons to Diane and all that needed to be done was print, complete, scan, and email back. That way grades didn't fall. Kiri sighed as she laid on her bed. How was she supposed to handle tomorrow's appointment? She had no clue about what had happened to put Elsa in the hospital. That was surely going to be the main topic. Asking Elsa wasn't an option, the girl was still comatose. And like hell she would ask Nassiri. All Kiri wanted to do with that alter was bury her at the bottom of the sea. Who else might know? Arcy had been asleep for a nap, Astra was with Kiri at the time. Maybe Anna or Aya? "Hey, Anna."

"What's up, Kiri?"

"Do you know what happened that made Elsa go to the hospital recently?"

"Sorta. I did see Nassiri messing around near the void area."

"What was she doing?" Anna hesitated. "It's okay to tell me. I won't think you're crazy or saw things."

Anna sighed, messing with her hair-inadvertently making Kiri do the same. "Well, she was reaching her hands in and moving them around. Kinda like she was playing with puppet."

Like a puppet? Is that how Nassiri co-fronted? Perhaps now that Astra was gatekeeper again, Nassiri wouldn't be able to do it anymore. Hopefully that hateful bitch was trapped in that black sub-conscious space. She rubbed her head and stared at the ceiling.

"Are we safe from her?"

Kiri sighed. "For now. I don't know if she'll come back or when."

"She's a real, uh, bitch, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Aya doesn't know about her, does she?"

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't. But it's for the best. The less who know about her, the better."

"Is there anything we can do?" Anna sounded nervous.

"Stay away from her. That's about it. And let me know if you ever see her. Got it?"

"No problem there. I hate her. I'd hit her with a frying pan if she didn't scare me so much."

Kiri couldn't help but chuckle. "Just be careful and let me handle Nassiri."

"Ugh, even her name sounds nasty."

Kiri shook her head and looked to the clock on the desk. It was only 6 p.m. She noticed a small stack of papers next to the hospital discharge folder. Curious, Kiri sat up and grabbed them. They were drawing Arcy had done. And from the looks of it, she had either heard or felt the fight with Nassiri. Hopefully the poor girl was alright. Suddenly drained of energy, Kiri closed her eyes for a nap. Shaking woke her up.

"Wake up! It's time to go."

It was Diane. "Huh? But I only closed for a few minutes…" Kiri looked to the clock. It was 9:23 a.m. "What the?! Did I really sleep over 12 hours? So sorry Diane. I guess I more tired than I thought."

"Still Kiri?"

"Yep. Do excuse me." She got up, grabbed a black dress from the closet and went in the bathroom. Kiri rushed to brush her hair, teeth and changed clothes. "Don't worry about breakfast. This is more important." She told Diane as she left the bathroom and Elsa's room. Diane followed behind Kiri as they went to the car. "Sorry for sleeping so long. Did I sleep through dinner, too?"

"Yeah but I figured I'd let you sleep. I have no idea what goes on in that inner world so you were probably too tired to eat anyway."

"I guess so. I'm surprised I slept so long. But I do feel better." As they got in the car and drove off, Kiri thought back to the last time she had actually slept for a full night. She tapped her nails, thinking. Was it 4 days ago? Maybe 5? No wonder she had just passed out after closing her eyes. "Oh crap, I forgot something."

"What's that?"

"There were some drawing Arcy did. I thought they could help us at the appointment."

"I'm ahead of you there. Dina had told me to bring all papers from the hospital stay. So I have the discharge papers and the drawings. Hopefully it'll help us a little."

"Yeah, especially since I have no clue about what happened the day Elsa was checked in."

"Is Elsa alright? Did you go to the inner world when you slept?"

Kiri looked out the window. "Uh, no, sorry. I'm guessing she's still in a coma. But I'm sure that she's safe."

"Alright," Diane sighed lightly.

Kiri felt bad that she couldn't do more for Diane at this point. An uneasy silence settled in the car as they drove on. The radio was just quiet background noise so neither of them would have to think too much about what they were heading into. But Kiri couldn't help thinking about it. She felt as though she had failed to keep Elsa safe and thus failed Diane and her purpose as an alter. Before Kiri had realized, they had arrived at the office. With a light sigh, Kiri got out and followed Diane in. They were checked in and called back within five minutes. Kiri felt a little awkward walking with crutches. It felt unnatural to have hard cushion under her armpit. Every now and then an ache in the back of her neck would distract her and she'd stumble on the crutches. IT was a good thing Dina's office was only a few feet down the hall. Kiri took the nearest chair and leaned the crutches against the wall beside her.

"Ah good, you seem to be recovering well." Dina smiled. "And who are we talking to today?"

"Kiri, Dina. I'm not the one in recovery, honestly. I walk fine on my own in the inner world. However, Elsa is still in a coma."

"I see. I had actually expected that. How are you coping with all this Diane?"

Diane rubbed her eyes and sat back in the other chair. "It's hard honestly. I thought if Elsa herself was in a coma, so would all the alters."

"Not necessarily, Diane. The way this disorder works is quite tricky. It's best to look at it as if there are multiple brains in one head. So if something happens to one brain, the others typically unaffected. Which is why giving medicine for D.I.D is so difficult. It won't work on everyone in the body."

"Although there is a bit of good news in this," Kiri interrupted Dina. The psychiatrist gave her a quizzical look. "The alter who caused Elsa to be in a coma is trapped in a much harder place to escape. I made sure of it."

"Is that what these are about?" Diane asked Kiri, referring to the drawings.

"I'd say so. Arcy must have heard the fight between me and Nassiri and drew it. But at least Nassiri is trapped for the moment."

"Tell me this Nassiri." Dina grabbed a pen and notepad.

"Well, she's the dangerous alter. I can't recall if I told you about her or not. But she's the one who wants nothing more than to cause confusion and pain to Elsa and the other alters. We had her locked away once but she managed to escape somehow. I'm hoping this latest entrapment will prove much more difficult to escape. She was co-hosting when Elsa was sent into a coma. Is it possible that Nassiri is in a coma now, as well?"

Dina finished writing and nodded. "Highly likely. Co-hosting upon coma can result in both core and alter going unconscious. But I wouldn't be sure. There's been no real way to test such a thing."

"I'll just go with maybe, then." Kiri rubbed her eyes.

"Kiri, were you around when the incident happened?"

"No, I wasn't. I was in the inner world."

"Alright. Diane, what did the police reports and witnesses tell you from that day?"

Diane leaned against the back of the chair. "Her principal called first, saying Elsa had blatantly left the campus. About 10 minutes later, from what the reports say, she was on the bridge. Witnesses reported that Elsa appeared terrified and to be arguing with herself and her body. A few noted that she seemed to sway before falling and clinging to the ledge. From there it was just that she fell in such a way she managed to avoid snapping her neck and spine on impact with the ground."

"Can I see the hospital papers?" Dina smiled as they were handed to her. "Hm, head injury, arm injury, contusions and lacerations, fractured ribs and displaced hips. OH? An additional note here. What did the doctor mean by odd speech pattern upon waking?"

"Oh. Well, Arcy fronted and that's what 'woke her up.' I managed to explain it to the doctor as her way of handling trauma." Diane explained. "The doctor didn't expect her to wake up so soon and neither did I."

"Poor Arcy. That must have been painful to come to front to. How did she deal with the hospital stay?"

"I made sure she was happy and taken care of. She drew these, which after hearing Kiri's side, seem to depict the fight that saved Elsa from Nassiri." Diane handed over the drawings as well. "How long will Elsa be in a coma for?"

Dina looked over the drawings. "Wow. Seems to be a bloody fight. But I do notice something. It goes from red and black hair fighting a pair of red and black wings to red and white wings fighting the red and black wings. Who is the red and white?"

"That would be Astrania." Kiri groaned, rubbing her forehead. "She's the gatekeeper and the guardian angel alter Elsa created. She's Nassiri's twin. I guess you could say the angel and devil on Elsa's conscience."

"Ah, a gatekeeper. Good. That will further ensure safety when people front."

"What's a gatekeeper?" Diane asked.

Dina smiled. "A gatekeeper is an alter that controls who fronts. It's an extra safety measure. Sometimes there's a gatekeeper and sometimes there isn't. But in this case, I'm glad there is. Kiri, how do you feel about what happened?"

"Honest truth?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Then do pardon my language, Diane. I feel that Nassiri is nothing more than a sick and twisted freak who needs to have her ginger head knocked off that bobble body of hers. She's a dangerous bitch and I'd love nothing more than to tear her apart. She has no grasp on what being an alter means!"

"Well, I'm afraid Kiri, that sometimes alters can turn out that way. Say she was formed when Elsa felt a huge surge of pain and hatred. It would all be filtered into a fragment and that fragment could grow into an alter the more it's fed. So in some cases, a dangerous alter can't help but be created."

"Just what she needs. Anyway to uncreate her?"

Dina stifled a laugh. "The only way to get rid of an alter is for the core to merge with that alter. There is no uncreating an alter." Dina looked to Diane. Were any medications prescribed such as painkillers or antibiotics?"

"Uh I think so. I believe I still have the prescriptions in my purse…" Diane rifled through her purse for a few seconds. "Ah here we go!" She handed the slips over to Dina.

"Alright, I'll just run these through and see if there's any possible reactions between these and Anna's medicine…" She typed the medication into the computer and red as the page came up. "Alright, looks like the ibuprofen and antibiotic don't have risk of reaction. That's good. Kiri, you say that Arcy heard the fight with Nassiri. Is I possible to speak to her?"

"I'm not entirely sure. She might be asleep and she might not be. I haven't been to the inner world since I came to front."

"hm, alright. Well, for now all we can do is keep an eye on Elsa as she recovers in the inner world. Kiri, I leave that to you. We can also ask the other alters if they know what happened-"

"Oh I almost forgot! I asked Anna if she knew what was going on. She saw Nassiri reaching into the void and pulling around like she was controlling a puppet. I'm guessing that's how Nassiri was able to force Elsa into what happened."

Dina wrote down more on the notepad. "It's quite possible. For now, all we can do is keep Elsa safe. Take the antibiotics daily, the pain medicine as needed. If Anna fronts, make sure she does the same and keeps to her prescription as well. For now, our session has run out. We'll meet again in two weeks at the same time. Is that alright, Diane?"

"It's far enough in advance for me to request off from work. Thanks, Dina."

"Not a problem. Kiri, I hope everything goes well for you and the others." Diane handed the prescription slips back to Diane as the two got ready to leave.

"So do I." Kiri groaned as she stood up and leaned on the crutches. Dina opened the door and let them out. So, Kiri was now on guard duty basically. She wouldn't go it alone, she'd get Astra to help as well. Now it was just a matter of physical recovery. All in time.

* * *

_**Man, almost 8 months pregnant and my back is just torture. Can't take medicine for it, too risky for the baby. But at least I'm almost done incubating this little buttmunch. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading/faving/following!**_


	11. Surge (Nass, Kiri, Elsa)

_**I cannot thank all of you enough for your patience with me. I know how much some of you LOVE this story. Thank you so much for waiting. I'm getting my flow back in this fanfic. So, let's see what happens next for our favorite little Snowflake. **_

_**TW: verbal abuse**_

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Chapter 11-Surge (Nassiri, Kiri, Elsa)

Her crimson lips parted in a scowl as she growled. Damn that Astra! Now she was trapped in this….whatever it was without any foreseeable way out. And why hadn't Elsa died when she made her fall? She was supposed to be dead! She paced back and forth, her wings unfolding and folding with her agitation. How would she get out? If she did get out, the first thing she would do was force control over Elsa and put a knife through her throat. Yeah, it'd kill her too but that was a price she was willing to pay to be free of the little Snowfreak. But first Nassiri had to figure out how to escape this hell. Her pacing picked up in speed, her wings kept folding and unfolding. What fresh hell was this anyway? How could she get out? She had easily escaped the cell by ramming the door enough times. But here, there were no doors, no windows, no anything anywhere. She growled, tossing her hands up in the air. "You damn Snowfreak! Fucking Astra! I'll make you both pay for this! You can't keep me confined! You're just mere mortals and I'm a god damn Goddess!"

Kiri got back to Elsa's room with Diane's help. "Thanks, Diane."

"I should be thanking you. I have no idea what you did, but you saved my daughter. And I just want you to know that I think of you as a daughter as well."

That was surprisingly heart warming. "I, I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it. You just keep everyone safe. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know." Diane helped Kiri to the bed and put the blanket over her. "Get some rest. It's been quite a day for you, all of you."

Kiri nodded as Diane left the room. "This just got a whole lot harder."

"Don't worry, Kiri. You aren't alone. We're here with you." That was Anna being optimistic.

"Anna, did you take your medication today?"

"Uh, let's see…..I don't recall? So maybe nope."

Kiri groaned. "Take control temporarily and take your medicine. You know what happens if you don't."

"Yikes, yeah let me just slip in here real quick."

Kiri was feeling a little proud. Anna was getting better at taking control when she needed to. Anna took her medicine and skipped, forgetting that Elsa was injured. "Whoopsie, my bad!"

"Just get back to the bed. Elsa's body needs rest if her injuries will heal."

_'For now, let's keep things calm for everyone. I don't know how long Nassiri will be trapped in the void.'_

"Please tell me you did not just sound unsure of yourself, Astra."

_'Apologies but it's the truth. I don't know how long it'll be until we have to fight her again. I think the only way to_ destroy _Nassiri is for Elsa to accept that hatred in herself.'_

"Give Elsa a break. She's got enough to handle without accepting that she has a malicious side."

_'True, but we can't always shield her form herself. At some point, she will have to accept everything in her life. Even us. I have a feeling she is starting to deny that we even exist because it's causing so much problems for her.'_

"Oh boy," Kiri groaned. "Well, all we can do is guide her."

_'I know. I'll do my best to protect her. I'll keep patrol of the void to make sure Nassiri stays trapped. Everyday I'll check in at night. Should I miss a check in, assume she escaped and I'm on her trail.'_

"Alright, you do that." Kiri sighed and closed her eyes. What time was it anyway? The clock was knocked over so she couldn't tell. And the window curtains being drawn didn't help, either. "Oh well, time is a commodity right now."

Elsa didn't know where she was. It was dark and cold, so very cold. Why was she here? What had happened that brought her here? Elsa thought hard and remembered how her body had moved on its own, a menacing woman's voice telling her to die. "No, no, no, that's not what happened! No one controls my body but me! I wasn't hearing voices! That would mean that I've gone crazy. I'm not crazy, I'm sane, I'm normal."

Yet the echoes of that woman's voice remained. They repeated horrible things like "You don't deserve to live," "Your powers make you a freak," "You're worthless," "Just die already, no one would miss you."

Elsa covered her head and curled in a ball. "No, I'm not worthless. My mom loves me, my dad loves me. I'm wanted." She started crying, heading down a deep spiral of depression and denial. Elsa looked up to see snowflakes falling from nowhere. "What? What is this?" She scrambled back, scared of what was going on. Elsa could see her breath and the snow kept falling, getting thicker. Was she in some sort of midnight snowstorm? "Why is it snowing? I don't like this!" Elsa stood and ran, trying to escape the snow storm. But it did no good. The snow only worsened and followed her. "Why is this happening to me?! What have I done wrong?" Elsa kept running and running, but only ran into entirely different scenery. "What? Where am I now?" She looked around, confused. It was her dad's basement, wasn't it?

She paused and watched as her father walked in, pulling her in by her hair. "Daddy, please! I don't know how it happened! Please! Don't! Not again!"

Baffled yet unable to look away, Elsa watched the strange scene play out.

Her father strapped her to a table and walked behind a wall. Her mom ran in and begged her dad not to do whatever he planned to do. Her mom was pushed back and a switch was flipped. A flash and shrill scream drew Elsa's eyes back to her other self. Was this real? Was it a nightmare? Elsa felt the jolt of electricity and shrieked herself, crumbling to her knees. "No, no it's not real! My daddy would never do anything like that to me!" Tears streamed down her face. Another flash and shrill scream made Elsa jolt and echo the cry. "He would never do that to me, never! He loves me!" Once again the snow started falling. It was falling fast and soon there was a thin layer of it at Elsa's feet. "This is just a nightmare. I need to wake up!"

Nassiri heard screaming and snarled. "Screaming, and I'm not the reason for it! Where the hell is that little brat?! I'll search every inch of this god forsaken shit stain until I find that little freak!" Nassiri began running around in every direction. Her feathers were a lighter black so she left a few as markers. 'You'd better hope you die of fright before I reach you, Elsa. Otherwise my claws will be the ones to shred you!" Nassiri heard the screams and denial. "Deny us all you want, that'll just make my victory sweeter." She kept tracking the screams down until she hit something invisible. But it was see through. On the other side, she saw Elsa slowly getting buried in her own snow. "You little bitch! If I ever get through whatever the hell this is, I'll fucking murder you!"

Elsa looked up and around, she obviously heard Nassiri. "What? Who are you? What did I do to you? LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Cry all you want you pathetic runt, but I will tear you to shreds. I am a Goddess and deserve freedom from the likes of a little freak like you!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" An ice blast spiraled from Elsa, making icicles on everything it touched. "I didn't ask for this!"

While it wasn't the same as physical abuse, Nassiri could always twist the freak's emotions and cause her to be buried in her own snow. "You have no idea what kind of freak you are. Do you see that snow? It's your fault. You were born into a cursed family of rejects! No one loves you! And everything you're seeing, it actually did happen! Your father thought torture would cure you! Your own father put you, a little child, through horrible things! If you thought he loved you, think again!"

"My father does love me, he does!" Another ice blast. Frost was covering whatever invisible thing was between them.

Perhaps if Nassiri could get it iced enough, she could break it. Nassiri grinned sadistically, a new plan in hand. And this time, no one knew about it.

* * *

_**Ahhh! It's been so long since I updated this fic with an actual chapter! It will take me a minute to remember where I was going with it but I will write my way through it. Thanks again for your patience with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_


	12. Cracked (Elsa, Nassiri, Astra)

_**Oh my god this chapter flowed so easily! I LOVE it and I'm sure you guys will, too. Let's just say, Nassiri is a dumb ass.**_

_**TW: verbal abuse, physical abuse**_

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Chapter 12- Cracked (Elsa, Nassiri, Astra)

"I'm loved, I'm wanted. I'm special." Elsa rocked back and forth on her heels, tears turning to frost on her cheeks as the snowfall thickened.

"If by special you mean cursed and tortured, you'd be correct," Nassiri grinned. She held a hand on the barrier between them. _'I just need you to ice this a few more times, you little worm.'_ "Though I suppose being able to make snow out of nothing does make you special. Freak show special. People should be paying your mother to even see you."

"Stop it! My mother was trying to protect me!" Elsa waved her arms.

"Sure, that's why after a week, she gave up trying to stop your father's abuse. That's why she didn't call the cops on him the minute he started it. That's why it took her lazy ass so long to give a fuck about a whiny brat like you," Nassiri stared at her claws, wondering if they were sharp enough. "Do you recall the day that your class took a field trip to a farm or whatever it was? I didn't care to pay attention to the details. Do you remember that day? When just the weekend before, you'd gone to Disneyland?"

"I, I do. Why?"

"How do you remember that day?"

"We went to Disneyland, then the following school day was the trip. It was alright but I tripped and fell in a pile of compost stuff."

Nassiri's cold laughter echoed around them. "Oh you poor, sweet, innocent thing. That's not what happened at all." If Nassiri did it right, she could show Elsa what really happened. All she needed was a way to get into the brat's head. "You see, you didn't just trip and fall into that pile of, well, shit. You were bullied by three kids who loved to come after you."

"No, I fell into it! I tripped on something and fell," Elsa covered her ears.

"Kid, covering you ears does shit to stop you from hearing. Do you ever wonder what happened to your precious autographed Princess Aurora picture? They tore it up and forced you to eat shit." Nassiri paused, seeing Elsa looking around. She must be seeing the real memory. "That's right, Elsa. Your little brain is lying to you. About everything. You're just a whiny piece of shit who's no good to anyone! You've caused your old mother so much stress that it's a wonder she hasn't died of a heart attack yet."

"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" Elsa stood and stamped on the ground. Even more ice and frost went everywhere.

_'That's right, play into my trap. I'll tear you apart.'_ Nassiri casually walked along the barrier. "And that snow is only going to get worse as you panic and scream. You'll die buried in snow and not a soul will miss you."

"Why are you doing this to me!?" Elsa began pulling at her hair.

"Because trash like you needs to be taken out one way or another."

Astra was worried, She heard screams and frost hardening but no matter how far into the void she went, nothing was to be found. "This isn't good. Where is Nassiri? Has she gotten to Elsa? I have to warn the others." Astra flew as fast as her wings could carry her to the ice castle. "Everyone, listen up!" The other alters gathered around. "I need you all to stay here and lock everything. I can't find Nassiri and I hear screams."

"Nassiri? No, she doesn't like that wicked woman!" Arcy hid under a table. "She hurts her! Don't let the black lady hurt her! Please! She's terrified of the black lady!"

"No one will get her, Arcy, I promise. I'll keep you safe, all of you. Only open the door for me. The password is…gerbil. If the one on the other side looks like me, look at the wings. If they aren't white like this," Astra turned so the others could see her white feathers. "Don't open it. Kiri will be with mom Diane, so there's no reason for her to be here either. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded and gave their verbal acknowledgments. "Good. After I leave, lock everything. Close windows and doors, lock and barricade them. Remember the password and my wings. I'll be back." Astra turned away and began walking out. "Hopefully," she whispered to herself. Nassiri was more dangerous than she knew. Her first destination was to talk with Kiri, so she interrupted whatever Kiri was doing. "Kiri, we have a problem."

"Don't tell me that Nassiri got loose already," Kiri groaned, putting down her dinner fork.

"I can't say that but I've heard Elsa's screams and frost hardening. I searched everywhere in the void but I can't find Nassiri or Elsa. I have the others on lockdown in the castle. The know the password and to only open if they see my white wings. I'm going to take a deeper dive into the void. Don't leave Elsa's body for anything. The girls know you're here and to keep everything closed and locked until further notice."

"Right, good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

Kiri sighed and looked to Diane. "I'm sure you heard all that."

Diane sighed and nodded. "Doesn't sound good."

"Far form it. But we won't let anything happen to Elsa. I promise you that we'll stop Nassiri at all costs."

"Alright. Just one question. How is it that Elsa is screaming when she's in a coma?"

"The mind is a very complex and mysterious thing. The subconscious tends to surface when the conscious mind is asleep." Kiri sighed. "Shit just got so much harder," she rubbed her nose.

Astra flew her fastest, wings screaming from the pain. But her pain was nothing. It was Elsa's pain that mattered. Astra took a deep dive into the void, following the sound of screams. She just hoped she'd get there in time.

Nassiri grinned. The barrier was starting to crack. A few more pushes were all that was needed. "What do you think about sex?"

"It's gross and I don't want to do it, now leave me alone!"

"Oh guess what honey, you've been there. You might not have approved but you've been there. Thanks to me." Nassiri laughed. "Oh man, that kid was amazing!"

"No, you're lying!" Elsa was running in circles.

"You think I'm lying? That's rich. If only I was, you'd still be a virgin. Do you ever recall a night when Hans was in your room on top of you? You parents came in and threw him out with so much force he almost broke a leg? The cops were called, charges were pressed. You begged for me to leave, give you control back. But I didn't. So, in essence, you were raped at age 12 by a kid you hated."

"Enough!" Another blast of ice and the barrier broke.

"Perfect." Nassiri took her time walking to the sniveling child, savoring the few moments before the kill. Nassiri couldn't wait any longer and jumped on Elsa. "Remember me, you sniveling whelp?"

Elsa's eye's widened. "N-N-Nassiri! No! How di you escape?" Elsa was cut off by Nassiri wrapping her hands around the girl's throat.

"It doesn't matter how I escaped. I'm here and I'm going to finish what I started." Nassiri squeezed hard enough to make Elsa cough and then threw the poor girl as far as she could. Elsa landed with a hard thud, crying out. "Shut it, you pathetic child! My suffering in your disgusting hands will finally end!" She ran and body slammed Elsa, jamming her elbow in Elsa's stomach.

"P-please…stop…I didn't…create you…" Elsa coughed, blood coming from her mouth.

"I wish you were right. But for now, you don't deserve to talk." Nassiri started clawing at Elsa, leaving bloody trails down her pale face.

"STOP IT!" Elsa screamed her loudest, another icy blast shoving Nassiri back. Slowly, Elsa stood. "I've…had it…With people like you, telling me shit…I don't want to hear." Elsa panted and pointed her hands at Nassiri. "I'm not worthless," Elsa growled, focusing hard. Ice shot out from her fingers and hit Nassiri again. "I'm not trash," another blast spread the distance between them. "And...I'm not…your scapegoat!" Elsa threw every emotion into the blast, watching as it knocked Nassiri so far back that she flipped. Gathering her courage, Elsa wiped blood from her mouth. "Who are you to tell me what I'm worth? Who are you to speak for anyone?" She kept shooting ice at Nassiri. "You're just a bitter old woman!"

Nassiri hadn't planned on this. Perhaps she'd pushed Elsa too far. It didn't matter, this would just make her kill so much more satisfying. "I must admit, Elsa, this show is rather impressive for a brat like you. However, you didn't count on me fighting back with my own magic. You aren't the only one with powers. I can control yours!" Nassiri pointed a finger at Elsa and a blizzard funneled around her. "Your courage was admirable but short lived."

"I said ENOUGH!" Elsa threw her arms down, the blizzard dissipating. "You don't control me, my powers or anything about me! You have no power over me! You never will!" Elsa not only threw ice at Nassiri, but all the anger and pain she felt. "I'm through being treated like your punching bag!" Elsa jumped on Nassiri's back while the woman was trying to make the snow stop. "You can hate me all you want but I've had it!" She pulled Nassiri's hair, her feet on the angel's back. She pushed away and tore out some hair, making the dark angel scream in pain. "I want you to feel the pain you put me through!" Elsa held onto Nassiri's neck and jumped on the black wings.

"You insignificant little bitch!" Nassiri grabbed Elsa from off of her back and threw her as far as she could. "You'll pay for this!" She started toward Elsa, but Astra dove into her.

"Back off you sick, twisted creature!"

"A-Astra…" Elsa panted, wiping blood from her mouth again. Her head was pounding and she felt like her shoulder was dislocated.

"Elsa, get away!" Astra punched Nassiri in the face.

"No. I'm sorry, Astrania, but if I created her like she says, I need to face her. It might be the only way she'll die."

Astra was struggling to keep Nassiri in a choke hold. "Are you sure? I don't mind helping." Astra was thrown back and landed on her side.

"Give me a weapon, that's how you can help. I can't hide behind everyone else all my life." Elsa shot ice at Nassiri, getting a feel for her powers.

"Very well, though I shall remain just in case." Astra dodged Nassiri's tackle and flew to Elsa. "Here," she took out a dagger from a sheath and gave it to Elsa. "Best of luck, my child."

"Thanks, I'll need it." Elsa didn't let her gaze leave Nassiri. The dark angel was running toward her now. "Come at me, bitch. I dare you!" Elsa shot the floor with ice, making Nassiri slip and slide past. Although it backfired as Nassiri grabbed Elsa's leg and made her slam to the ground. "Shit!" Elsa stumbled up and growled, getting even more pissed off. "You can take my dignity, take my life and even take my virginity. I don't care about all that anymore. But I will not tolerate being treated like a defenseless child any longer! You need to learn your place in MY world!" Elsa ran and tackled Nassiri, head ramming into her stomach.

"You puny little-" Nassiri cut off mid-sentence by her own shriek as Elsa stabbed through one of Nassiri's wing bones. Blood splattered all over both of them, the sound echoing in the empty space around them. Astra nearly gagged. "My wings! My beautiful black wings! Stained with my blood! I'll tear your shreds into shreds!"

"Like hell you will," Elsa hit Nassiri in the face with a shot of ice, blinding her in one eye. "I speak for everyone when I say we've had enough of your narcissistic ways!" Elsa ran and stabbed the dagger into Nassiri's stomach, wincing from the pain. More blood was spilled, the wound in her body seeping warm fluid all over the dagger and Elsa's hands.

"Did you forget," Nassiri coughed, tossing Elsa to the side, "that we're the same person?"

Elsa stood, her head down. "No, I haven't forgotten." She raised her head just enough for a smirk to be seen. "I was hoping you'd know that." Elsa raised the dagger to herself.

"What are you doing?" Both the angels looked panicked.

"We're one in the same, you feel my pain." Elsa stabbed herself and cried out, falling to her knees. A small pool of blood dripped from Elsa's stomach. Nassiri fell to her knees, coughing blood. Astra winced, the blood making her slightly uneasy. Elsa crawled to Nass, smiling. "We will be free of you." She stabbed the dagger through Nassir's back and into her chest. Elsa nearly crumbled from the pain. "No more," she fell onto her legs, her head resting on the ground. "Freedom…" Elsa panted, blood slowly dripping from her mouth. Blood was all over her, making her queasy.

Astra was poking Nassiri with her foot. "You actually killed her. Wow," she clapped slowly. "That was amazing, Elsa. Let's get you to the castle so you can wash up and rest properly."

"That sounds nice," Elsa weakly smiled, closing her eyes to sleep.

"You did great," Astra smiled. She was extremely proud of Elsa. Not only had Elsa killed Nassiri, but she had also killed the part of her that held all the hate. It wasn't always easy to do that. Even if Elsa didn't understand the symbolism, she had done a great job.

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_**Who else got chills form this chapter? Who else was extremely satisfied with the ending? Eeee! I love m writing so much! Find out what happens next in chapter 13!**_


	13. Aftermath (Kiri, Astra, Elsa)

_**Ah! I've had so many hours at work, that updating this is getting harder! I will try to keep updates as close together as I can. It's late and this chapter is kinda short but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway.**_

_**TW: co-fronting**_

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Chapter 13-Aftermath (Kiri, Astra, Elsa)

Astra was relieved that the girls had remembered what she told them about the password and wings. But no doubt they were more relieved to hear that Nassiri was dead. Arcy had the most rejoicing, bouncing up and down and clapping. The little 8 year old was the happiest she had ever been. Even if Elsa had fallen asleep on the way to her castle, Astra happily wiped her off with a wash cloth, changed her clothes and laid her to rest in bed. This was just proof that you could only push someone so far before they would stand up for themselves. No doubt Diane would be extremely proud, even if she didn't understand the mechanics of it. There was really no way to explain it. The brain was a very complex organism. If it could create several people, some of whom don't know of another, who knew what else it could do.

Anna was just overflowing with questions. "Was there blood? A lot of it? How did Elsa do it? Did she rip off the witch's head and throw it at the body?"

Astra just laughed as Arcy took her usual place under her wing. "There was definitely blood, quite a bit. And no, there was no decapitation. Elsa used her powers to stop Nassiri and then just strength and a regular blade. For a 12 year old, she was really powerful."

"She's just glad that black wings are gone. Black wings always made her sad and hurt," Arcy pulled a few of Astra's feathers and put them in her hair.

Astra smiled and helped center the feather's in Arcy's hair. "Black wings will never happen again. Only white wings. I promise her."

"YAY!" Arcy gave Astra the tightest hug her 8 year old arms could muster.

"Oh no, she's squishing me!" Astra went limp in her chair.

"No, come back, Nia! She didn't mean to squeeze you into noodliness!"

Astra glomped Arcy. "Ok, I'm back!"

Aya stared and tilted her head, her expression neutral as always. Aya had never met Nassiri and that was good so to Ayalah they were talking about a stranger. She just shrugged, got up and left the room.

Astra patted Arcy's head. "I have to run an errand, but I'll be back. She can have more feathers until I get back." Astra spread her wings a little to offer the bigger feathers to Arcy. A few painful plucks and a hug later, Arcy was pretending to fly. "She'll be fine, okay?"

"Okay, Nia! She believes you! She loves you, too!"

Astrania thought her head would split from the grin. That was the most heart warming thing she'd heard. "Aw! I love her, too!" A huge hug later, Astra was making her way to the void to tell Kiri the good news. Who would have thought that Elsa would prove herself so powerful and courageous? She guessed this was what motherhood felt like but short of having kids, she'd never know. Once in the void, Astra just stood there and talked. "Guess what, Kiri?"

"What is it, Astra?"

"Oh is that the guardian angel?"

Her guess was right, Diane was there. They were probably eating. "Well, our little Snowflake has done something very impressive."

"What did my baby girl do?"

In the real world, Astra had guessed right. It was dinner time and they were eating. Kiri was telling Diane about how complex the inner world was. She explained how there was a store, a park, the castle, a nice parkway to walk along and the weather was always perfect. Diane had been totally enthralled until they were interrupted. Kiri stretched back in the chair. "What has Elsa done?"

"She killed Nassiri, literally killed her."

"Wait, if one of the altar's is dead, shouldn't Elsa be dead?" Diane was totally baffled.

"Not necessarily," Astra interrupted Kiri before she could speak. "The human mind is such a complex network. It can create all of us, who knows what else it could do."

"This is true," Kiri nodded. "So, Nassiri is really dead? No more worries about that dangerous vixen taking over?"

"Yeah, I want my baby safe!" Diane played with her food now.

"I checked her myself. Nassiri is dead and gone. Elsa accepted that she created the dark angel and killed her off. There's no need to worry anymore. Elsa can now fully focus on total recovery."

Diane fell back against her chair with a huge sigh. "That is such a huge relief! I wasn't sure how to handle such a dangerous woman living inside my sweet little girl."

Kiri smiled. "No worries, Diane. Astra and I will watch over not only Elsa but the other altars as well. We can focus on moving forward with treatment and bettering her grades in school."

"Thank you so much! I really don't know how I could possibly repay all of you for what you've done to protect Elsa."

"No need to thank us," Astra waved her hand, Kiri mimicking the motion unintentionally. "Oops, forgot here is a sort of like take control area."

Diane laughed. "No worries, I'm just glad Elsa is taking steps on her own. How is she doing?"

"She's sound asleep. I think she'll wake from her coma soon. I took the liberty of cleaning her up and laying her in bed when we got to the castle."

"Thanks," Kiri and Diane spoke in unison.

"No worries, all part of being a guardian angel."

Kiri felt the weight of another presence leave. "Well, that was certainly a welcome surprise. I'm proud of Elsa. The first step to recovery is acknowledging the problem."

"That's true. And this will surely be something we tell Dina about. I'd like to know what she has to say about something like this. This disorder Elsa has is sort of intriguing in its complexity."

Kiri smirked. "That it is. But until science is able to tap into all the mysteries of the human brain, we may never truly know how it works."

Elsa woke the next day around noon. Her bones ached and she had a migraine. When she tried to get up, she cried out in pain. "Oh yeah, broken. Well this sucks." She used the stand next to the bed to get up and used the wall to walk. She had to pee and nothing was going to stop her. She got to the bathroom, did what she needed to do and got to the sink. Elsa splashed her face and stared in the mirror. A brief flash of Nassiri went across her eyes. "No, I'm not her and she's not me, not anymore. I accepted her and ripped her out of me, so to speak." Elsa went back to her bed, kind of hopping on one foot. She rubbed her eyes and let out a huge sigh. "I'm still healing in the real world, so I'm not gonna be able to do much here, either. Well, I can at least make the best of it." She hummed and opened the drawer in her stand. To her surprise, there were art supplies in it. A note attached read: "For Elsa, our brave Snowflake." It had to be from her actual guardian angel. What was her name again? Maybe she'd remember after a while. Right now, she just wanted to take her mind off of the pain she was in. She began drawing animals and mythical creatures. She wasn't the best artist but she enjoyed it. Elsa was happy to be free of Nassiri, and the others probably were, too.

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_**I hope you enjoyed this little update. It was the best I could do.**_


	14. A Long Road (Kiri, Astra, Aya, Elsa)

_**TW: going to inner world, denial**_

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Chapter 14- A Long Road (Kiri, Astra, Aya, Elsa)

Kiri sighed heavily, letting herself relax. Elsa had managed to kill Nassiri and free all of them from the woman's influence. She was really impressed. Looking back on her early days as an altar, Kiri couldn't help but feel guilty for her spiteful behavior. It was shameful, really. It wasn't Elsa's fault that Kiri and the others had been created and yet Kiri was a, well, bitch to her. Kiri hoped she was making up for it now. Going to Elsa's room, she looked to the clock. It was going on 10 p.m. and it was about time to rest for the night. Kiri laid down on Elsa's bed and closed her eyes, falling into the void of the inner world. It had been quite some time since she had been to the castle. Kiri knew which way it was and made it there within minutes. She walked in and sat on the couch, seeing Aya sitting in the chair opposite her. She was listening to music, wearing her usual black hoodie. Kiri could see blonde bangs and realized that this was the first time she had ever seen Aya's hair.

"She needs to calm down or she could get hurt," that was Astra. But who was she talking to? Kiri thought and realized it was Arcy, knowing that Arcy always talked in the third person. "Let's get her to the living room where she can play safely."

"Can she sit on your wings again? They're so soft and fluffy!"

"Of course she can," Astra laughed. Something about the angel's laugh was soothing and musical. "Oh, hey Kiri. How are things with Diane?"

"Who is she talking to?" Arcy ruffled Astra's feathers.

"Just an imaginary friend. Everyone has one, even the white angel." Astra laid on her stomach on the floor, leaving Arcy on her back undisturbed.

"Things are going good. Diane is relieved beyond all belief that Nassiri is gone. I was explaining the complexities of the inner world to her when you gave us the news. I must say, I'm rather impressed by our Snowflake. She's shown us just how strong she can be."

"How what who now?" Elsa walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. She had her crutch under her good arm. Elsa's left hip, right arm and head were still injured.

"We're so proud of you, Elsa!" Kiri smiled. "And I'm impressed with how strong you can be. You took down Nassiri on your own."

"Oh, that. I'd…rather not talk about it." Elsa looked down and walked to the kitchen.

Kiri raised an eyebrow and looked to Astra. "She probably feels like she killed herself," Astra whispered.

Kiri nodded. "So how is our Snowflake feeling?"

"I'm so freaking hungry I could eat an entire cow!" Elsa replied from the fridge. She closed the doors, arms full of food.

"Let me help you with that before you drop some," Kiri went to Elsa and grabbed some of the food. "I'd be starving if I hadn't eaten in as long as you have." She walked with Elsa to the dining table and laid the food down. "How does your head feel?"

"Like there are a zillion tiny balls rapidly bouncing back and forth in it. My hip is way painful and my elbow is just numb now. Can I eat now?"

Kiri let a tiny smile lift the corners of her lips. "Sure." She couldn't blame Elsa for being irritable. She'd been through way too much to be in a good mood when waking up. Kiri returned to her place on the couch, fixing her black silk gown. "So does Arcy always hang onto you like that?"

Astra, playing peekaboo with Arcy using her wings, poked her head out from behind the feathers. "Yeah, but I don't mind. Arcy finds sanctuary in it and it makes her feel safe. As a guardian angel, that's all I can wish for." She ducked her head back down and shook her wings, making Arcy laugh.

"Arcy sure is strange. Any reason she talks the way she does?"

"Nope," spoke the feathers. "It's just the way she is. I think it's kinda cute."

Aya raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. Who was Kiri talking to? Who had she gone to help in the kitchen? Was Kiri going insane? Aya shook her head, got up from the chair and went to her room. It was time she wrote some more poems. What would she write about this time? Ayalah looked out her window for a few minutes, trading topics back and forth. She lightly tapped on the windowsill, debating. Maybe she could write about the time she was in class and the others had ridiculed her? No, too cliché. Maybe she could just listen to some music. Music was always a good go to. Aya took down her hoodie and brushed her blonde hair, going slowly and carefully. She took pride in the fact that her hair had no split ends. It was meticulous but worth it.

She braided her hair and placed the hoodie back over her head. Going to a bookcase by the bed, she fingered through the c.d.'s she had. Maybe some Xandria. Diann always had such a beautiful voice. She was operatic and yet could belt out a killer rock star verse with no problem. A perfect mix. Anna came in the room, annoying Aya. Didn't Anna know how to knock? What if she had been undressing? Aya turned to the red head and blinked.

"I'm so glad you're here, Aya! I was so bored earlier! No one wants to listen to me!"

In all fairness, Aya didn't want to either. She just wanted to relax and be on her own. But she didn't dare say anything. So Aya just put the c.d. in and laid back on her bed.

"So, I was out in the park earlier and I came across a family of ducks. It was the cutest thing! The mama duck was trying to teach the babies how to swim. One of the ducklings was having a hard time and he kept just flipping in the water. Every time his little butt went up, I saw his little feet just waddling through the air! It was adorable! I got it on video!" Anna pulled out a camera and played the video.

Okay, this was adorable. Who didn't love ducklings? They were just cheeping little balls of featherfluff. Aya smiled a little, watching the little duck go upside down and paddle his webbed feet through the air.

"See? Isn't it just the cutest! Yet no one wants to see it," Anna sighed. "I guess this is just a little treasure that we can share when we need to cheer up, right?"

Aya sighed and ruffled Anna's hair. Anna was eccentric but she meant well. Aya watched her leave, a little surprised when she closed the door. Well, that was a cute little moment. Worth the intrusion.

Elsa sighed as she devoured all the food she had grabbed. The whole fight with Nassiri still felt surreal, as if it was only a dream. Yet she had done it. The bloody clothes were in her hamper and the presence of hate was gone. Had Elsa killed herself in a way? After all, Nassiri was a part of her. There was a huge wave of guilt, but why? Nassiri was purposely trying to ruin her life and everyone else's. Maybe it was guilt over having taken a life? Her parent's had taught her that violence was never the answer. Yet, that had been the answer for the situation. Why was this so conflicting?! Elsa had single handedly rid them all of a horrible person and she was feeling bad about it. This was frustrating. She wanted to talk about it but at the same time she just wanted to be left alone. _'Had I have known I'd feel like this after killing Nassiri, I wouldn't have done it. I would have let someone else take care of her,' _Elsa frowned, now pushing her food around with the fork. Why was life so full of conflict? She tried to distract herself with thoughts of school. What grade was she in again? What school was she in? It had been such a long time since Elsa had been in the real world, that she didn't really know the answers anymore. Was that supposed to happen? Now that Elsa thought about it, she couldn't recall a lot of things. Where was her father? And her pet? Did she have any friends? Elsa stood and cleaned her plate off, going to her room. Thoughts were fluttering around her like butterflies in a butterfly net. Did that make sense? It made sense to her. When would her injuries heal? How had she gotten them again? She leaned her crutch on the wall as she laid down on her stomach on the bed. A deep depression settled over her as she went through her memories. There were so many gaps in time that she couldn't explain. What was this bizarre place she was in anyway? She couldn't remember it in any way. Was this just some strange continuation of a dream? Confusion swirled together with depression and made Elsa more frustrated. Snowflakes started forming in the room and gently falling down. She looked up as a snowflake landed on her hand. "And then there's this…" Elsa sighed. Her powers. This was something that no one in the family could explain. And it was the source of all of her problems. Couldn't she just wish it all away and have a normal life? "Is it too much to ask to be normal? I don't want these powers or weird dreams of people I don't know." She plopped her head onto her pillow with a groan.

Astra, who had just laid Arcy down for a nap, had walked by Elsa's room on the way out. She'd overheard part of it, as Elsa hadn't closed the door all the way. "Oh dear, this isn't good." She moved fiery red hair from her eyes and walked downstairs. "Kiri, we seem to have a problem."

"What is it?"

"I think Elsa has relapsed into denial. I just heard her talking about us in her room. She thinks we're a dream. I fear the thing with Nassiri caused this." The angel sat in the chair opposite the couch and crossed her legs. Worry shone in her emerald eyes.

Kiri let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes. "All we can do is report it to Dina when we go in next. She'll know what to do." Kiri frowned, Astra nodding. This was going to be a long recovery.

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_**Hello everyone! How are you guys doing? I'm doing, meh. I had two teeth pulled out on 7/21 so my mouth is in a lot of pain. But I write on for my faithful readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can tell, things are getting interesting. Join me as I take our favorite people on a little ride!**_


	15. Square One (Elsa, Astra)

_**Yay, another update! And I'm getting even more research now thanks to a few systems who are helping me get all my notes back. So this is even more scarily accurate than before! YAY! Anyway, on with the story.**_

_**TW: co-hosting, switching, body dysphoria**_

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Chapter 15-Square One (Elsa, Astra)

Elsa woke up the next morning and stumbled out of bed. With a rather confused glance, she found her leg was in a cast along with her arm. "When did this happen? How?" She rubbed her head, sighing. Maybe her mom would know? She grabbed the near by crutches and hobbled from her room. Elsa looked around, not seeing her mom anywhere. She glanced to the clock on the wall. "Hm, it's a little past noon. Maybe she's at work. It is…I think Tuesday." It was Tuesday, wasn't it? Elsa wasn't too sure. She hobbled to the kitchen to make herself some food. It wasn't easy but she managed to get some left over lasagna from the fridge and heat it in the microwave. When had lasagna been made? Elsa couldn't recall ever eating it recently. Thinking about it now, Elsa couldn't recall when she had last eaten. Was the t.v. on? Elsa could hear faint chatter. She took a glance in the living room but the television was off. Where was the chatter coming from? While the microwave heated up her food, Elsa sat in a dining chair and listened, trying to hone in on the conversation.

_'...cheese…'_

Cheese?!

_'…kids…nothing…'_

_'…ducks…water…What's that?'_

What kind of program was on the t.v.? Maybe her mom had left the t.v. in her room on before going to work. Elsa yawned and stretched, wincing as her arm ached. Her foot started tapping and Elsa stared at it. Why was it tapping? Now her hand was swaying back and forth. Was she doing that? No, she wasn't. Was it just a muscle spasm? Elsa tried to make her hand and foot stop but it didn't work.

_'I'm bored. Let's do something fun!'_

Who was that? Elsa looked around, having heard it right next to her, it seemed. No one was around, though. "Well of course no one is around. I'm home alone. At least I think I am." Elsa scratched her head and found her hands started playing with her hair. "Hey, stop it!" Elsa frowned, irritated with her self moving hands. The microwave beeped and Elsa sighed as her hands were hers again. "Maybe I'm still asleep." Elsa hobbled up and reached in the microwave, yelping as she touched the hot dish. "Nope, I'm awake." She waved her hands and blew on them.

_'Hot water draws out the burn.'_

That was an oddly specific thought from out of nowhere. Elsa shrugged it off and ran her hands under hot water. "Well, that was helpful."

_'You're welcome.'_

Okay, now it was just getting creepy. Who was that? How did they know what she was doing? Was there a new security camera installed in the house that did audio? No, that wasn't her mom's voice. Then who was that? Now a little confused, Elsa grabbed a hand towel from the sink and took her food from the microwave. Sitting down, she started to eat when the fork was dropped and her hands crossed.

_'There's too much fat in that. I'm not eating that.'_

_'You need to let Elsa eat otherwise she'll be hungry. And nothing productive is done on an empty stomach.'_

_'I never see you eat.'_

_'I'm far too busy taking care of all of you to do so. I will when I can, don't worry.'_

_'Who's she talking to?'_

_'Just an imaginary friend. Arcy doesn't need to worry.'_

Arcy? Who the hell was that? Why did Elsa eating concern these people? Where were they? Who were they? Elsa grumbled and dropped her head on the table, aggravated. "I'm hearing voices, great. I'm going crazy." With a huge sigh, Elsa picked up the fork again. So far, so good. She ate a mouthful and then another. It was so tasty, so why did her stomach turn?

_'Too much cheese and oregano. I don't like it.'_

"Who the hell…?" Elsa's language slipped as she shook her head slightly. Why did someone else liking it matter when she was the one eating it? Elsa no longer felt an appetite and pushed the plate aside, leaning on the table. A dull headache pulsed behind her right temple, making Elsa a little irritable. "Where is Mom?" She left the table, grabbed her crutch and wobbled to the living room. With a sigh, she turned the t.v on and began channel surfing. She went to the Disney Channel and was caught up in a few minutes of watching a show when the channel changed again. "Wait, what?" Her fingers clicked the channel button again until the channel stopped on the Discovery channel. "I don't want to watch this network, it's all boring!" She tried to change it again but her hand wasn't moving. "Come on, this is just some boring stuff about murder investigations!" Elsa kept trying to change the channel but gave up after a minute. "Fine, I guess I'm stuck watching this." She huffed and sat back, only to have her legs cross. "What is going on with me today? Are my body parts revolting against me or something?" She turned her attention to the program. It was about a couple who had been fighting physically for a while and the woman was found dead with blood on her head. Elsa twitched, uncomfortable with what she was seeing. The scene showed that the woman was surrounded by broken glass and blood. "No, I don't want to see this. I don't like blood…" Elsa pulled on her bangs, hiding her eyes. "Blood is gross and means something bad. Almost always something bad…"

The door opened and Diane walked in, surprised to see her daughter up. "Oh, you're up!" She tilted her head when Elsa sat there for a minute, fidgeting. Was she switching? Diane raised an eyebrow and walked up to Elsa. "Elsa? You there?"

She blinked and looked to Diane, her posture changing. She went from slouching with her arms crossed to sitting straight with her legs together and laid off to the left a little. "I don't believe we've formally met before. I'm Astrania. I would qualify as the caretaker altar. I watch over everyone and make sure things are alright."

Diane blinked. "Uh, hello. Nice to meet you." She sat on the couch, slouching over. "How is Elsa doing?"

"Not too well. It would seem the encounter with her demonic altar and the aftermath have sent her into denial. She no longer accepts her diagnosis. And Kiri took over the t.v. however the program on triggered Elsa into switching. Thus, here I am."

Diane sighed, processing it all. "So square one again?"

"Unfortunately. I have noticed in the void that there are little pieces floating around. I'm not too sure what it means so I've been observing them carefully. I hope it isn't an underlying problem."

"Same. So, what do we do now? How can we help Elsa?" Diane rubbed her eyes, confused but wanting to help her daughter.

"For now, all we can do is keep going to sessions. I'll tell the other altars to leave notes. Maybe we could start a journal and keep track of what we do during the day. Leave it somewhere Elsa is guaranteed to find it. Perhaps that would help." Astrania ran a hand through her hair. "Are there any spare diary like books laying around?"

Diane laid her head against the back of the couch. "No but I can go get one. Any preferred style?"

Multiple voices rang out inaudibly but Astra brushed off their comments. "I think it's best to get one that is plain. Everyone has their own taste, so one that can have pages decorated to taste are best. But a plain covered diary would be wonderful."

Diane nodded. "Alright. So, Astrania, what is your role in Elsa's world?"

"I am the caretaker and gatekeeper." Astra slightly smiled as Diane raised an eyebrow. "A caretaker is the one who keeps all the altars and even the core cared for. I also see that the right person fronts when certain situations arise and cause triggers. Like how just now, Elsa couldn't handle the sight of blood. Normally, I'd have Kiri come but she is getting much needed rest. Arcy is napping, Anna and Aya are out on their own day. So, seeing as others were unavailable, I myself chose to front."

Diane scratched her head and sighed. "It must get complicated having to look after everyone."

"It does, but that's just part of my job. No one said it was easy."

"I'd imagine. Well, I'll be back. I'm guessing the sooner the diary is bought, the sooner we can help our little Snowflake, right?" Diane stretched as she stood and walked to the kitchen counter. "I'll be back in around 10 minutes. There's a nearby book store that has tons of diaries. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone," she joked, waving to Astra as she grabbed her keys and left.

_'What was that about?'_

"Oh, well good afternoon, Kiri. Do you feel better after your rest?"

_'Sort of. Nightmares don't really help. I'm 25, you'd figure I wouldn't be plagued with such things.'_

"It can't be helped. You sound a little more distant than usual. What's wrong?"

_'My depression is really getting to me today. I need a drink.'_

"Just don't overdo it. You know that alcohol is a depressant."

Kiri groaned. _'Yeah, yeah, I know.'_

Astra shook her head a little and walked back into Elsa's room. She stopped, staring at her hand. It was smaller than normal. Was she in her own body? No, not right now. That was something that she would need to adjust to. Once in Elsa's room, the closet was the next destination. She rifled through the clothes until she found a top that came off the shoulders and a pair of black capri pants. She went into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror, staring at the reflection. She had never fronted before so she hadn't expected to feel such detachment from the body she was in. Normally, Astra stood about five foot ten or so, but she was at least half that height now. Instead of emerald green eyes, sapphire blue eyes stared back at her. Snowy white hair replaced the usual fire red Astra was used to seeing on herself. She tilted her head back and forth a few times, trying to be sure that it was her and not Elsa in the mirror. Her hands raised and fell, she turned around several times. But no matter how many times she saw the same movements reflected back at her, she never felt like she was in the body. There was a pale strawberry blonde on the tips of Elsa's hair, probably from when Anna had dyed Elsa's hair. But other than that, no sign that anyone else inhabited the little body. Astra placed her hand on the mirror, in a hope that maybe a physical connection could make her feel more grounded to the body she was in. But to no avail.

_'White lady! White lady! She's scared!'_

Astra expected to feel the weight of Arcy jump on her back as she was accustomed to, but it never came. "What's wrong, Arcy?"

_'She had bad dreams! About the dark lady and the shocks and the blood…She's scared, Nia! She's scared that dark wings will come back!'_

That wasn't what those floating pieces were, was it? Not little fragments of Nassiri waiting for a trigger to form into a whole again….Astra pulled her thoughts from that unpleasant possibility and returned to Arcy. "Dark wings won't come back, Arcy. They're gone for good. And even if they do return, I'll protect her. Nothing will happen to Arcy."

_'Shadows scare her, too. Anything can hide in darkness. Silence is best, she can hear what's going on.'_

"I'll make sure you have a nightlight in your room. There won't be any darkness that can get you."

_'I hear noise, who is it? Is it dark wings?'_

"Arcana, everything is okay. Dark wings are gone. What you hear is someone else who lives with us in the castle. She is getting something to eat. Kiri is a good person, she helps to protect Arcy as well."

_'Are you sure she's good?'_

"Positive."

Arcy seemed to pause in thought for a minute. _'Okay, she'll trust Nia. Nia has never let her down. Not like others have. Nia is good and white and love and safety.'_

That made Astra smile. "I'm glad I mean so much to her, sweetie."

Arcy hummed and it echoed as she went back to the castle.

"Okay, I have it!" Diane raised her eyebrows, surprised at the jump that Astra did. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh no, it's quite alright. I was just talking with a few others while you were gone. Thank you, though. This will greatly help Elsa understand what goes on in her life when she's not around."

"I hope so. A shame that she's seemed to regress, though," Diane frowned.

"It's only natural with serious medical conditions like this. You don't really want to believe it's happening and other explanations are easier to accept. Would you want to accept that you're living with other people that are all in your head but can control your body at anytime?"

"You mean like that?" Diane pointed to Astra's hands, which were already searching for something to write with.

"Yep. I think it's Arcy who's trying to draw in the diary. She can't stand blank pages." Astra walked to the desk and sat, letting Arcy find the markers in the desk drawer. "Arcy has to fill pages with something. If it's blank, that means that anything can happen. And anything could be good or bad. So, she draws to be sure that she knows no surprises will come." She looked down to see that Arcy was drawing a picture of a crying girl strapped to a table, dark wings hanging above. There were lightning bolts and tears, which probably meant that she had dreamt of when Nassiri tortured her. _'Poor girl, such horrific memories. Who knows what Nassiri did to you before I came along.'_ She shook the thoughts and let Arcana continue her drawings. Without even asking, each drawing was signed. Astra sighed and leaned back when Arcy stopped. "I'll write to tell Elsa who did this." She took the pen in her left hand and began writing. She started by writing on the cover, naming the book. She decided to call it "The Missing Pieces." With a somewhat fitting title, she turned passed the first three pages of Arcy's front and back drawings and began a new entry.

_'Little Snowflake,_

_You don't know me yet but that's alright. I'm a friend. Those drawings were done by someone else who's a friend. You don't need to worry. This diary will help you fill in all the missing pieces of your life. You may not know it, but you are very gifted and loved. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. In time, you'll come to understand everything. For now, just call me your guardian angel. I'll always be here._

_-Nia, Friday August 5th, 2016.'_

She set the diary down and laid on the bed, still feeling a little detached from the body. Perhaps the feeling would go away in the morning. For now, she needed to make sure that Arcana had a light in her room and the noise was at least toned down. She closed her eyes and went to the inner world, hoping Elsa would feel better soon.

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_**What a chapter huh? Things are getting even better in terms of being interesting. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Work has been crazy but I have been typing. Until next time, peace!**_


	16. Pale Reflection (Elsa, Alters)

_**Ooh boy do I have a chapter for you guys! Get ready for one hell of a ride! I have so much more insight and things are really gonna heat up!**_

_**TW: co-hosting, P.T.S.D and panic attacks, fires, burns, anxiety, hallucinations (auditory, visual and taste)**_

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Chapter 16-Pale Reflection (Elsa, Alters)

Elsa wandered around the castle, irritated. "When will I wake up from this dream? It's been forever already!" She frowned, exploring everything. "Who do these rooms belong to anyway? I don't know anyone by these names." Elsa went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There were salad fixings, fruit, meat, and other meal like things. As far as drinks, there were juices, soda, milk and purified water. That was oddly specific. Several dishes were on the counter, cups half full. Was she in a dream involving others?

"This isn't a dream, Elsa. This is reality, your inner world. It's your creation." A woman sighed, sitting in her chair in the living room.

Who was this woman? She was a pale woman with black and red hair. "No it isn't. This is all a weird and continuous dream. I'll wake up soon." Elsa sat and crossed her arms. "And you're just some strange image cooked up by my imagination." She rolled her eyes and turned away.

"If it were a dream, this wouldn't hurt," the woman replied. She reached out and pinched Elsa's arm.

"Ow! Hey don't do that!"

"Don't do what? What's the haps?" Another woman bounced in to the room, with reddish hair and freckles all over.

Elsa stared disapprovingly at both of them. "Don't touch me. I suppose you're another dream person."

The red head tilted her head. "Dream person?" She looked to the older woman. "What is she talking about?" The other woman only shook her head and went back to her chair. "Elsa, you're not asleep, silly nilly."

Elsa frowned. "Don't call me silly. I'm asleep and I'll wake up soon." She turned from the kitchen area and walked to the back doors. Walking out, she saw a pool with a diving board and a few lawn chairs by the poolside. Why was she dreaming this place and these people up? It didn't matter the reason, for as soon as Elsa was awake she'd surely forget about it all. That was just how dreams worked.

"Kiri, why is Elsa acting so strange?"

Kiri sighed and glanced up to Anna. "Well, Astrania thinks that Elsa's encounter with the dangerous alter may have caused her to collapse and regress to her pre-diagnosis days. It is possible but we just have to wait until the next session with Dina to be able to do anything."

Anna frowned. "So she doesn't know us anymore?"

"Pretty much."

_'Everyone, listen up. I have started a journal to help Elsa fill in the missing pieces of her days while we're out and she's in the castle. I want everyone to write in it when they front. Tell her who you are, what you did, where you went and then sign and date it. That's the best we can do for Elsa until her psychiatrist sees her again.'_

"What the what? Who was that? It sounded like Nia but I don't see her." Anna spun around trying to see where the voice came form.

Kiri sighed, irritated. "It was Nia. When any one of us fronts, we can still communicate with everyone. All we need to do is think."

"Oh. So does that mean that you guys hear my thoughts when I front?"

"Unfortunately." Kiri stood and walked toward the stairs. "And by the way, acting like a damsel in distress will not get a guys attention." She went upstairs with a smirk.

Anna blushed. "Well what would you know."

Aya was walking along the park and came across the void. With a shrug, she decided to front. She was bored, so why not see what was going on outside the inner world? She walked to the void and felt a presence already. Who else was there? She didn't know but with a rush of nausea and a headache, she saw Diane staring at her. Aya waved slightly, only to hear a voice talk.

"I guess someone else has joined us for dinner."

Who said that? She hadn't spoken yet she felt her throat vibrate as if she had. Is this what talking felt like? Aya didn't like it. She waved her hands in small motions and pointed to herself.

"Yes, that was Elsa's voice."

There it was again! Who else was here? Aya frowned, crossing her arms.

"It's okay," Diane smiled. She studied the second alter who was now co-hosting. "Would you be Ayalah?"

Aya looked to Diane, confused. How had she found out her name? It was a nice change to be addressed by name but confusing. She nodded very slightly, avoiding eye contact.

"It's nice to know your name. I was told by someone else, someone you haven't met yet. Maybe she can introduce herself to you. She's the reason why you hear someone talking."

"It's true. I'm sorry to confuse you, Aya. I'm Nia, the guardian angel and caretaker of everyone in the inner world. It's nice to meet you."

Aya fidgeted, lacing her fingers together. What did this Nia mean by guardian angel and caretaker? Did that mean she was an actual angel? And what the heck was a caretaker? Aya could take care of herself.

"Don't fret, Aya. I just make sure everything is alright with you guys, I don't actually take care of anyone except for a little alter named Arcana."

Ugh! Aya didn't like how talking felt. It tickled her throat and made her ears vibrate. Wouldn't Nia stop talking already? Silence was always best, as that was what others wanted most of the time. A ringing phone made Aya jump, which made Nia giggle a little. That was just rude. Aya and Nia watched Diane get up and answer the phone, nod a few times and return to the table, looking distressed. Aya tilted her head.

"What's wrong, Diane?" Nia asked.

"That was Elsa's school. Her leave of absence is over. She has to return next Monday."

"Don't mind me, just popping in to take my medicine," Anna fronted for a few minutes to make sure she took her schizophrenia pills.

They tasted gross to both Nia and Aya. At least they could agree on that. Anna stuck around a bit longer, talking with Nia and Diane about school and other kids and clothes. Aya got irritated and went back to the inner world. She didn't like the way talking felt in her throat and was glad she was mute.

"Hm, it seems that Aya left. She probably didn't like the way talking felt."

"Aw, but she needs to be social!" Anna pouted, slouching in the chair.

"Now, Anna. Everyone has their behavior for a reason. For Aya, she stays quiet to be safe."

"Oh come on, Nia. She's gotta talk sometime."

"And if she does is entirely up to her."

Diane just sat and ate, watching Nia and Anna talk. It was really intriguing how there could be so many people in one body. It was horrible that such a thing was a result of continuous and various kinds of trauma, though. The human brain really was such a mysterious and complex organ.

"Can you get me that journal thing Nia told us all about? I gotta write down what I'm doing when I'm here." Anna smiled. Diane nodded, left the table and came back a few minutes later. "Thanks!"

_'Hey Elsa!_

_It's me, Anna! Ya know, that dream person you met just now that has the crazy red hair? Anyway, while I was here, I took medicine that was prescribed to me for my schizophrenia. Ya know, it took me a minute to remember how to spell that disorder. Anyway, I hope you feel better soon. All of us really miss talking to you!_

_-Anna, Saturday, August 6th, 2016.'_

She closed the journal and bobbed her head, as if listening to music. "Well, I'm feeling the effects of my medicine so I'm gonna head back to my room for now. See ya later, Mom!" Anna waved and left to the inner castle herself.

"Nia! Nia!"

"Well hello there, Arcy. How is she doing today?"

"She had a nice nap! Though there were doors slamming and people arguing. But the nightlight was amazing! Not a single little bit of darkness in her room whenever she sleeps! Arcy loves it! She thanks Nia so, so, soooo much!"

Astra smiled and looked to Diane. "I'm sure you're familiar with the littlest alter, Arcana. She has a fear of the dark and prefers silence. It's better for her so she can know what's coming." Nia focused on Arcy again. "She is very welcome. Arcy knows Nia wouldn't let anything happen to her. That's why Nia is here."

"Nia is the best! Can she go to the park later?"

"Sure, I'll go with her. We can go see the ducks again."

"YAAAAYYY!" Arcy flailed her arms, making Nia do the same.

Diane giggled. "Arcy likes ducks, doesn't she?"

"She loves the ducks! Especially babies! Arcy sees them as floating fluffballs!" Arcy replied. "Nia and Mom lady are the best!"

"We try," Diane smiled.

"They succeed," Arcy smiled. "She's gonna go now. She wants to draw some pictures now!"

"Okay, Arcy, have fun!" Diane waved and watched as Nia sat for a minute, staring at the ceiling. "Is it just us two or are there other alters wanting to say hi?"

Nia thought for a minute. "I believe it's just us now."

_'Hey, Nia.'_

"Whoops, spoke too soon. Kiri is thinking at me. What is it, Kiri?"

_'Elsa is getting worse. She's gone around the entire castle just trashing everything. She's hearing things again, voices are telling her that nothing is real and she can't do anything right. I think she just ran up to her room, screaming about purple tasting like cabbage or something. Do you think her hallucinations are getting worse?'_

"Oh dear. It sounds like she is getting worse. Diane, could you call Dina and schedule an emergency walk in? If Elsa keeps regressing from all the stress and hallucinations, who knows what could happen."

"What's going on?" Diane asked as she got up to use the phone on the counter.

"Elsa is hallucinating again. Only this time it's progressed to tasting colors. She needs to see Dina right away."

"Alright, I'm on the line." Diane stepped into the kitchen and began talking to the receptionist.

Astrania frowned. Things were getting worse and if left alone, it would only get worse. Tasting colors? That was new. "Kiri, keep an eye on her. Keep her from hurting herself while I'm here."

_'Got it.'_

"The clinic isn't open on the weekends but luckily I had Dina's personal number. She'll come by tomorrow at noon to make a house call. After hearing what was going on, she agreed that Elsa is getting worse. Do you think she'll be able to help?" Diane sat again, twirling hair around her fingers.

"I hope so. She's the only one with the training to handle this kind of thing."

Elsa sat in her room, cradling her legs in her arms. "No, no, no. I'm not useless! You're useless! Shut up!"

_'You can't do anything right. Remember how your parents divorced? How you broke up another relationship your mother tried to have? You ruin everything! You're a useless waste! A mistake! Nothing but trouble! If you weren't around, your mother and father would still be together and be perfectly happy. But no, you have to exist.'_

"STOP IT!" Elsa sprang up and swung her arms, knocking her clock over. She walked to the desk and stared at the mirror, her heart racing. The image kept distorting and warping. "WHO AM I!?" Infuriated with the voices and her messed up vision, Elsa picked up the clock from the floor and smashed it into the mirror. Pieces of glass fell everywhere. "What is wrong with me?!" She fell to her knees among the shards of broken glass. Picking up anything she could, Elsa hurled objects at the door. Soon there was a small pile as her P.T.S.D spiked, bringing her anxiety and fear with it.

_'You're just pathetic. A little bit of hearing things and tasting weird things and you start freaking out. Grow up.'_

Elsa swatted at the air, but she was seeing a silhouette trying to attack her with burning sticks and strange drinks. "What do you want from me?!" She flailed her arms, knocking over the standing lamp. It crashed onto the floor, sparks from the in use light bulb landing on the carpet and starting a small fire. Elsa fled from the corner, curling into a ball. She held her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. Her panic rose as the flames slowly got brighter. "What have I done? What have I done? It's my fault, all my fault…What have I done?" She started crying, not hearing the pounding on her door.

"Elsa! Elsa let me in! I smell smoke and see bright light under the door!" Kiri kept trying the door and pushing on it.  
"Alright, fuck it. This door has got to go. Nia! I need your help now! Elsa's in danger!" Kiri rammed herself into the door a few times. She didn't know there was a pile of things in front of the door. "ELSA LET ME IN!" Kiri stepped back a few feet and hurled herself at the door. She fell back and cursed, holding her shoulder.

"Stay back, let me go at it," Astra's voice carried in before she was seen. Kiri moved away and watched as Astrania literally flew into the door, breaking it off the hinges. Astra flew into the flames in her effort to break down the door. "AH SHIT!" She dropped to the floor and rolled. "KIRI GET HER OUT OF HERE! FIRE!"

Kiri ran in and picked up Elsa, ignoring the panicked screams and kicks. "I'm saving your life, kid. You'll thank me later. Will you be alright, Astrania?"

Astra was panting as she rolled on the floor, to put out the flames on her body. "Just take care of her!" The flames took a few seconds but they were out. She turned her attention to the room. "Crap, I don't have anything I can…." She stopped in that sentence and looked to her wings. "So be it. Everyone's safety is more important than my wings." She dropped to her back on the rest of the fire, rolling on the flames to extinguish them.

Anna was walking by and saw what was going on. "Holy shit, Nia! I'll get the extinguisher!" She ran off and came back a minute later, pulling out the pin and spraying everything in the room.

Nia covered her head and face, extending her burning wings as well.

"Ok, I think I got everything out." Anna wiped her forehead and dropped the extinguisher. "Are you okay, Nia? What happened?"

Nia coughed and panted, dizzy and weak. "I don't…know how it started….but Elsa was in here….She was panicking. I literally," Astra coughed a few more times, "flew into the door to break it down….Kiri got her out…Go to them, check Elsa…" Nia started crawling out of the room, trying to stay conscious.

"No, I'm gonna help you out. You need medical attention a.s.a.p!" Anna reached down and wrapped Nia's arm around her neck to hoist her up. "That was really awesome and heroic but I believe in no one left behind." She struggled a bit but Anna brought Nia downstairs.

Kiri turned and jumped. "Holy fucking hell, Nia! Anna, keep Arcy from seeing Nia like this. It might remind her of Nassiri since Nia's wings are burned. And keep an eye on Elsa. I managed to calm her by stroking her hair and making the sound of waves. Just a gentle 'ffshhh' sound. Her wounds are already taken care of. I'll take care of Nia." She ran to Nia, who was struggling to get into a chair in the living room. "That was way too close. I'm so glad you can fly."

"I don't know," Astra panted and her eyes fluttered, "if I will be able to anymore."

"Don't say that. We can fix your wings. I'll take care of the burns and then front so I can research how to care for injured wings. If it can work for birds, it can work for you." Kiri ran into the bathroom, grabbed cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide and some towels. She wet one towel in hot water completely, breathing in as she held it and ran back out. "This is gonna hurt. Be ready. 3,2,1." Kiri placed the hot towel on Astra's wings.

"Oh holy mother of Mary virgin and all that is divine!" Nia clawed into the arm of the chair, breathing in deeply. "Thanks for the countdown."

"Sure. Anna, call Aya. Have her get a room temperature drink. Anything colder or warmer could send her body into shock after being exposed to hot flames." She gently cleaned the blood and burnt feathers from the wings as Anna went off. "Okay, all cleaned. I'm gonna use some peroxide now to stop any infections." She poured some onto the cotton balls and shook her head. "Okay, in 3,2,1." Nia cringed and whined under her breath as Kiri cleaned her wounds. "I'm being as gentle as I can. Bone is exposed in some places."

"Yeah," Nia panted, "just get it over with."

Elsa was staring at them as Kiri tended to Nia. "What have I done? What have I done? Even if it is a dream, I've hurt people. I always hurt people….What's wrong with me? Am I cursed? What have I done?"

Kiri stopped, noticing a chill in the air. On instinct, she glanced to Elsa. As she had figured, a bit of snow was starting to swirl. "Anna, come over here and finish this. Give Nia the drink and finish cleaning the wounds. When it's all done, gently wrap the towels over her wings." Kiri moved to Elsa and sat on her legs, getting eye level with Elsa. "Elsa, look at me. It's fine. You didn't mean for any of this to happen. We'll all be okay. Take deep breaths and relax," Kiri stroked her hair and made the sound of waves until Elsa's breathing and pulse returned to normal. It took a few minutes but Elsa eventually was at peace. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think so. Will she be okay? Even if this is a dream, I feel terrible. It was my fault that fire started…"

Kiri shook her head. "It was an accident. Accidents happen. Nia will be fine. She just needs time to rest. And so do you. Tell you what, I'll walk you to where where you won't have to worry about any of us."

Elsa bit her lips and played with the end of her braid. "Are you sure no one is mad? I mean she is so badly hurt…"

"Look at me, look at me," Kiri pried Elsa's eyes away from Nia. "We know what to do. I'm going to take you somewhere where you won't have to worry about us. Follow me." She gently led Elsa out of the castle and into the void. "Just walk through there and you'll wake up."

Elsa chewed her lip. "I feel so bad, though. I couldn't possibly wake up not knowing if, uh, Nia will be alright. I mean I caused that. Shouldn't I stay to see how it goes?"

"You want to wake up, don't you?" As much as it drove everyone crazy, Kiri played along with the dream theory. It was the only way to ensure Elsa would be safe while Nia recovered.

"I guess so. Through here, you said?" Elsa looked to Kiri. "I never did get your name."

"Kiri. Don't worry, we'll meet again. I'm not a one time dream."

Elsa looked down, tapped her fingertips together and took a deep breath. "Guess I'll see you again."

"Until next time," Kiri ruffled Elsa's hair before she walked into the void. She waited a few minutes before following. It seemed it was night time in the real world, so Elsa had gone to bed. That was perfect. Kiri could get the research she needed and go back without startling or waking Elsa. She found the journal Astra had started and wrote that she had done some wing research for Nia, signed it, and dated it August 6th. It wasn't quite the 7th yet. Kiri laid Elsa back in bed and returned to the inner world. Before going to the castle, she went to the store and picked up wrappings, bandages, and gauze. Without further delay, Kiri went to the castle to tend to Nia. "I know what to do, Nia. But it'll hurt again. I have to gauze your wings and then wrap them closed. Can you bare with me one last time while I do it?"

"Yeah, just do it, I'm in pain already."

"Okay. Anna, keep Arcy and Aya away. They don't need to see this." Kiri gently placed gauze on Nia's wings and began wrapping them closed delicately. Anna ran off to distract the other two alters somehow while Kiri did her work. "From what I read, it can take up to 6 months for burnt wings to heal. I don't know if it'll be longer for you but it's a safe guess it will be. Your wings are much larger than any bird wings people have cared for."

Nia grimaced and clawed into the arm of the chair again as her wings were wrapped. "Probably."

"You can't be going around doing anything strenuous while your wings heal. Just rest and relax. I'll handle any stressful shit that comes Elsa's way, okay?" Nia grumbled about being needed as the gatekeeper and caretaker. "I acknowledge you are needed but if you push yourself too hard, you could hurt yourself more. You already have high blood pressure and rarely eat. And from what I saw the first time you fronted, you can't accept the differences in bodies between the worlds. You have enough to deal with already. I'll take care of things while you recover."

Nia let out a long and annoyed sigh. "Fine, I guess. But if you get overwhelmed, let me know and I'll help you out."

"I'll be fine, Nia, I promise. Let's get you to your room and sleep. You need it." Kiri helped Nia up and upstairs to her room. I'll come check on you now and then, okay? Just relax." Kiri shook her head at Nia's grumbles and closed the door. What a day this had turned into. At least Elsa had been saved.

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**_Am I good at this or what? Work has been so crazy with my hours lately. I have been typing little scenes into my notepad on my tablet, though. In fact that was how this whole chapter started. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this thrilling chapter. I'll see you guys for my next one!_**


	17. One Voice (Elsa, Kiri, Astra)

_**Woo! I love how the words are just flowing lately! Anyway, onto the triggers.**_

_**TW: co-conscience fronting, hypnosis**_

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Chapter 17- One Voice (Elsa, Kiri, Astra)

Arcana had been at the park with Anna. She had never met her before but Arcy liked the teen. "Ms. Anna, how old are you?"

"I'm 13, little Arcy. And how old is Arcy?" It felt weird to talk to someone like that but it was the only way Arcy would talk.

"She's 8! Her birthday is coming soon, but she doesn't think anyone will remember or care. No one cares about Arcy's birthday," she frowned.

"Oh, come now Arcy. She has a family who loves her very much! Of course her birthday will be remembered and celebrated!"

Arcy shrugged. "Anna, why can't she be by Nia? She loves the soft, white feathers…"

"Aw sweetie, Nia is sick. Last thing Nia wants is to get Arcy sick. Everyone loves Arcy, so we don't want her to be sick."

"Well, okay. But the minute Nia is better, she's gonna tuck herself under the wings and never leave. Nia is sick cause she left her side. Arcy feels terrible…"

Anna frowned a little. "Little Arcy, it's not her fault Nia got sick. Nia does so much for everyone that she forgets to take care of herself as well. That's why Nia is sick. It has nothing to do with sweet little Arcy."

"Is Anna sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, if Anna says so…"

Elsa woke up the next morning and stretched, rubbing her eyes. Her head throbbed, as if she had hit her headboard in her sleep. A dull ringing in her ears and a bit of nausea kept Elsa laying down for a little longer. "Did I eat something that doesn't agree with my stomach?" She yawned and slowly sat up. An image of burned wings flashed before her eyes and she shook her head. "Oh crap! I really hope everything turned out okay for Nia…Even if it was a dream, I feel terrible about what happened…" She looked at the clock, seeing it was a Sunday. "Cool, I can stay in my pajamas." Elsa jumped out of bed and walked out of her room. She had neglected to check the time so seeing lunch on the table confused her. "Lunch for breakfast? That's a new one."

Diane turned form her chair at the table. "Oh, you're up. I tried waking you for breakfast but you were just so out of it that not even 5 minutes of shaking you did anything. So I just let you sleep." She gestured to the chair next to her. "Come eat with me. I made grilled cheese with pickles, your favorite. Plus there's some cheddar cheese ruffles, too."

"Ah, sweet! I'm starving!" Elsa ran to the table and sat, grabbing the sandwich. "It smells so good!" She took a huge bite and sat back, relishing the taste.

Diane studied her for a second, using body language and the voice to figure out who was fronting. "So, Elsa, how did you sleep?"

Elsa had finished her sandwich rather quickly and drank down the cup of juice in a few big gulps. She paused, maybe to catch her breath. "I slept fine but had a horrible nightmare! I can still remember it!"

A knock on the door had both of them turning. "Hold that thought, sweetie. I'll get the door." Diane stood and walked to the door. With a huge sigh, she opened it. "Thank goodness. Thank you so much for coming, Dina. We really need your help."

"Given what you told me, this couldn't wait. So tell me, what's going on?"

Elsa blinked. Why was her psychiatrist here? What had gone on? Did Elsa miss something? Diane talked with her in private for a moment before both of them sat at the table.

"So, Elsa. Your mom said you had a nightmare last night. Care to share it?" Dina unfolded her laptop, pushed a button and the screen lit up. A little red dot distracted Elsa for a split second before she spoke.

Elsa shrugged. "I guess. So, I was in a room in a castle and out of nowhere there were shadow people. They were laughing and trying to burn me with glowing sticks. There were voices mocking everything I did. I think I knocked a lamp over and started a fire. Next thing I know, an actual angel literally flies into my room. Another woman carried me out and I was panicking. I had a panic attack and felt even worse after I saw the angel come downstairs. Her beautiful white wings had been completely burned. The woman who took me from the room led me to somewhere and then I woke up. It's all so surreal, as if it actually did happen."

The two adults exchanged glances. "What if I were to tell you it did happen?"

Elsa laughed. "Then I'd tell you that you need a psych and not me, Dina."

Dina studied Elsa for a moment. "Tell me, Elsa. What memories do you have of your childhood?"

"That's an odd question. I had a normal childhood. Sure, kids were mean about my hair but I had come to expect that back in like, kindergarten. Nothing abnormal really sticks out except maybe a weird teacher or two."

"hmm," Dina raised an eyebrow and rifled through a file she had beside her. She took out a drawing and showed it to Elsa. "Do you remember this?"

Elsa took the drawing and tilted her head. "Not really, no." It was a an amazingly done drawing of demons holding down a blonde haired girl as she slept. Dina took it back and gave her another one. This drawing was sloppy and the color wasn't always in the lines. It was a picture of an angel fighting another angel. Both of them looked similar, aside from wing color. "Hey, wait. That white winged angel…She looks like the one I saw get burned…"

Diane looked to Dina. "Should we tell her? What's going on?"

"It would seem something traumatized Elsa into a denial of everything we had worked up to. I don't know what's happened, so I would need to speak with someone else to find out more." She turned to Elsa and held up a pen. "Elsa, focus on this pen." Dina slowly waved it back and forth. "Concentrate on nothing else but this pen. I will count down from ten. When I get to one, I want you to imagine falling into a castle."

"Okay…" Elsa was intently staring at the pen, feeling a little light headed.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Dina sighed lightly as Elsa slumped against the chair. "Glad that worked. Hypnosis relies majorly on the suggestibility of the subject." Dina looked to Elsa. "Whoever is the caretaker as of now, please front. We need to find out what's going on with Elsa and why."

Elsa straightened and crossed her legs, hands folding on her lap. "Oh, hello. I do believe we spoke a few times before." Astra had come to front.

"Astra get your ass back in bed. You aren't healed enough." Kiri wasn't happy about it though.

"She called for the caretaker and that's me."

"You're on a damn leave of absence now get back to bed, woman!"

Diane giggled. "I think you called both the adults out. Kiri, Astra, will you stop arguing long enough for us to figure out what's going on?"

"Yeah," Kiri grumbled.

"Of course."

"Okay," Dina addressed them both. "Who saw the reason for Elsa's dip into denial?"

"I did," they both replied.

"Hm, interesting. Ok, which one of you witnessed the exact moment this started?"

"Ah, that would be me, Dina." Astra raised her hand.

"Okay, so tell us what started this." Dina put her hands on the keyboard, ready to type.

"I hope you're ready for this. It's quite long." Astra paused to let Dina crack her knuckles. "Elsa was in a coma due to Nassiri. However, Nassiri managed to find the part of the void that Elsa was in during this coma. I was unable to get there in time but when I did get there, Elsa and Nassiri were bloody from fighting. Elsa requested the dagger I had and I gave it to her. I had offered my help but it was refused. Elsa said and I quote: "No. I'm sorry, Astrania, but if I created her like she says, I need to face her. It might be the only way she'll die." And from there, a very bloody battle ensued. Elsa won, killing Nassiri. I have a suspicion that it created a very heavy conflict for Elsa. She could feel as if she killed herself."

Dina was wide eyed. "She killed Nassiri? Physically killed her?"

"Indeed, it was bloody and a bit unsettling to watch. But it was done. I checked the vixen's pulse and she was dead alright."

Dina began furiously typing into her laptop. "Your theory is most likely right, Astrania. Having killed an alter, something she knew was part of her, Elsa could feel like she killed herself."

"Add onto that the lesson I gave her of violence never being the answer and it probably made it worse," Diane frowned.

"What happened afterward?"

"Well, Elsa was fine for a while but while Nia was here with Diane, Elsa started having hallucinations. She would taste colors, see words, shadows were attacking her and she started believing everything was just a dream," Kiri replied. "Things only got worse when her panic attack caused a fire and Nia nearly lost her wings. I managed to calm her down and coax her back to the real world but her denial has gotten heavy."

"And Kiri, how do you fit into how everything played out?"

"Until Nia here has recovered, I've taken on the role of caretaker and gatekeeper. Though it would seem this stubborn angel refuses to listen to me."

"I can hear you, Kiri."

"Yeah, I know. Now get back to bed!"

"One last question before you go, Nia. How have the others handled the recent events?"

"Everyone is thrilled that Nassiri is gone but it's countered by the heavy concern for Elsa. We're all worried about her. Her hallucinations have escalated, as Kiri said. She claimed that purple tasted like cabbage."

"She has gotten worse. She's regressed. It is most likely due to the stress of Nassiri and the heavy panic attack. All those left over emotions mixed with panic and guilt over what happened in the castle. She doesn't seem to know what she has anymore."

"What can we do to help her? I bought a journal for everyone to write in so hopefully that's a start," Diane held her hands to her chest. Kiri and Nia now knew where Elsa got it from.

"Well, we can keep this session going. If you'd like, we can move to the living room so I can reintroduce Elsa to her alters. Though after everything that's happened, it would need to be one at a time."

"Do you think she could handle it?" Kiri frowned. "Hey, Nia, get back to bed already before I kick your ass that way!"

"Alright, alright! For a tiny Transylvanian woman, you have quite the temper. Until next time everyone," Nia waved before leaving.

"Thank god, feeling as if I had phantom wings was making my shoulders so itchy! I don't know how she stands it!" Kiri leaned against the back of the chair.

Dina stared at her laptop for a moment, deep in thought. "Reintroduction might be a bit much at the moment. But I do have an idea. It branches off the journal idea. We can get her a small camera that we can attach to a piece of clothing. Every day, it will record everything. Be sure to look in a mirror or turn it to yourself once in while. Show Elsa that it is her body doing everything. Video tape everything and document things in the journal. Anything to help Elsa figure out what's going on. Diane, set aside some time to have Elsa read the journal and watch the videos." She ruffled through a little bag and pulled out a small camera. "I'll give you a note that you can show the teachers and principal at her school so it won't be taken. It can record for up to 36 hours on a single charge. Take it anywhere that you go," Dina handed the camera to Kiri. "Make sure she reads and watches everything. This will make a reintroduction to everyone much smoother."

"Alright. Do we need to hook it up to anything or no?" Kiri studied the camera. "What kind of storage does it use?"

"Elsa can just watch videos straight from the little side screen and it takes any micro s.d. card. Here's the charger and carrying case." Dina handed them to Diane while Kiri turned on the camera to adjust the settings. "Call me on my personal number if you ever need me after office hours. I want to help however I can. And when you want to wake Elsa up, just snap your fingers."

"Thank you so much, Dina. I have no idea what we'd do without you." Diane stood and walked with Dina to the door.

"Go crazy ourselves," Kiri laughed.

"I doubt that. Though it would be a lot more difficult without my help. I'll work on some more methods for treatment while I'm at home. Take care everyone!"

"Later!"

Diane sat back at the table and looked to Kiri. "Ok, random question Kiri. Where does your accent come from?"

"Remember that movie Hotel Transylvania? Elsa loved that father guy, whatever his name was. She loved his accent and so I guess it just kinda came to me."

Diane blinked and face palmed. "Now why didn't I think of that?"

"Hey, you've got enough to worry about already." Kiri hit record and turned the camera to herself. "Hey, Elsa! It's gotta be strange watching yourself talk and not actually be talking. Anyway, to my point!" Kiri held up a sharpened pencil. "Okay that was just bad. Today's date, as you can see by this conveniently placed calendar here, is Sunday, August 7th, 2016. It's around 1:30 p.m. and we just had a session with your psychiatrist Dina. We talked about your denial, what caused it and how to help. This video journal and the other journal "The Missing Pieces" are the ways we're helping." Kiri turned the camera to Diane. "Any words for Elsa?"

Diane blinked and smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Um, hi, baby girl. You've got something pretty serious going on in that complex little brain of yours. But no matter, I will always love you and always be here for you. I love you, Elsa. I love all the other people you live with, too."

Kiri made a point to gag. "And on that note, we end this first video journal. See ya later, twerp!" Kiri closed the camera and turned it off. "Well, that's done. Should we wake up the twerp?"

"Yeah, go ahead and bring her back here."

"Gotcha." Kiri leaned back and left. Elsa slouched over and her head fell, a little snoring barely audible.

Diane smiled and kissed Elsa's head before she snapped her fingers. "Yo, sleepy head!"

Elsa yawned. "Hm, what?" She stretched. "Oh, food!" Elsa grabbed a handful of chips from the bag. "What's up, Mom?"

Diane smiled. "Quite a bit, Elsa. You'll find out in a little bit." She ruffled Elsa's hair with a smile.

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_**How about that update, huh? Don't forget guys, the first fic, "The Storm Inside of Me," is being rewritten. I am adding in some extras to that one so that everything makes a little more sense. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys in the next update! As always, thanks for reading!**_


	18. Starling (Kiri, Arcy, Elsa)

_**TW: flashbacks, physical abuse, confinement, domestic abuse, animal abuse**_

_**Author's Note: I am an avid animal lover. I despise anyone who hurts animals. I just want to show how much of psycho Hans is. So heads up now, your feels will be destroyed.**_

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Chapter 18- Starling (Kiri, Arcy, Elsa)

Kiri sat restlessly in her bed in the castle. Things were starting to smooth out yet she had a lot on her mind. Kiri knew exactly what was bothering her. When Kiri had gotten back to the castle, she walked in to see Arcy scrambling back from Nia. As Kiri had expected, Nia looked like Nassiri with her burnt wings. She had ushered Arcy into her room, but the girl was cowering in the far corner of the room. How could she help Arcy? Kiri studied the little girl, chewing her lip. "Arcy, can I come closer?"

"No where is safe…Red and black is back…Nia lied to her, she promised safety…" Arcy held her hands over her head.

Kiri sat on the floor a few feet from Arcy. "Nia didn't lie to her. The pretty white wings got hurt, that's all. No one is going to hurt anyone."

Arcy glanced all around the room. "It's dark in here, she doesn't like it. Darkness means people can sneak up on her…People can beat her, shock her, tie her up."

Just how much had Nassiri done to this poor girl? "Does Arcy want to talk about? I'll listen." Kiri put her hands where Arcy could see them to show she meant no harm.

"How can Arcana know she can trust Kiri? Kiri is red and black like the mean winged lady was…"

Hm, that was a set back. "You can play cops with me. Hand cuff me like I'm a bad guy to be sure I won't do anything."

Arcana studied Kiri for a moment, debating that proposal. "Okay, she'll do that. Follow her, bad lady." Arcy got up and left, Kiri following. She went into her room. There wasn't much in the way of decorations. Just a plain dresser, a bed, a few dolls and lots of art supplies. Arcy rummaged in her bed and pulled out plastic handcuffs. "Come here, lady criminal!"

"Okay, officer Arcana. She's got me. I surrender." Kiri held out her hands and let Arcy hand cuff her. "Does Arcy feel good? Does she want to talk about what red and black did?"

"Arcy feels safe knowing bad lady is cuffed. She'll talk."

Kiri sat in front of Arcy's bed while Arcy sat on the bed itself. She told Kiri of how when Nassiri was around, she was kept locked in a dark room, chained to a wall. There was only one small window but it was too high for Arcana to see anything. Every day Nassiri would come in and whip Arcy, shock her with a taser, claw at her and beat her. She was given just enough food and water to stay alive and rarely given a bathroom break. A lot of times, Arcy was forced to go to a corner she called "Potty Corner" when she couldn't hold it anymore. One night, Nassiri had stepped in that corner while torturing Arcy and lashed out even harder. The shocking got worse. A few times, Nassiri would terrorize Arcy with flight and dropping her. She would catch Arcy but the fright of it gave her an extreme fear of heights. Constantly, Nassiri would tell Arcana that everything was her fault. It was her fault it was raining, she was to blame for the wine running out, blamed for the stupidest things that she had nothing to do with. The room was tiny. There was only enough room for two people to walk a few steps. It made Arcana fear tight spaces. "She couldn't breathe most times, it was so small. Never enough air. If Arcy was asleep when Nassiri came in, Nass would wake her up with a high heel to the side. Arcy learned to stay awake and fear shadows. Nassiri hid in shadows, watched her….Just watched her….No light, no love…no safety. If she made the slightest sound in pain, it was always worse…Her left hand was broken and it never got better right…" Arcy held up her left hand, her hand slightly tilted to the right as if the bone had set crooked. "Burning was a constant. It didn't matter what was heated up, it was put on her. Anywhere that could be reached. Forks, cigarettes, smelly sticks, claws…Burning, all the time. She has scars all over."

Kiri frowned. "I'm so sorry, Arcana." Kiri had just thought those were freckles, not scars.

"Always burned and cut. She was never allowed to speak. Dare she say one thing at all, even whisper, it was the chair. A chair that zapped and buzzed. The light, humming…No, Arcy doesn't like it!" She shook her head and started rocking back and forth.

"Can I hug Arcy? Make her feel better?" Kiri frowned. This poor thing, only 8 years old, had been treated worse than an animal in a breeding mill.

"Arcy would like hugs…" She held her arms out to Kiri.

Kiri got on her knees and hugged Arcy. "Everything is alright now, Arcy. Nassiri is never coming back. Nia is here, her wings are just hurt. But I promise that Nassiri is gone for good. Ya know, Nia is sad that her wings got hurt. She knows how much Arcy loved her wings."

"Really?" Arcy looked up to Kiri, dark blue eyes shining. "Maybe Nia wants all her feathers back now…" She hopped out of Kiri's arms and to the closet. She opened it and pulled out a box with white feathers. "Do you think Nia would feel better with her feathers?"

Kiri smiled. "It's worth a try and very sweet of her, Arcy."

Arcy smiled. "To Nia!" She grabbed a glue stick from her dresser and ran downstairs.

In her excitement, Arcy had forgotten to take the cuffs off. But at least she was feeling better. Kiri managed to get a nail into the fake keyhole and pry open the cuffs. She smiled and went back to her room. On a whim, Kiri decided to go back to the old castle. She took the path back and entered the old doors, the familiar creak bringing on déjà vu. Kiri had never really explored the entirety of the castle. There were the usual rooms and a few extra, but toward the back was an extension that looked old and abandoned-as if it had been there before the castle. Curious, Kiri walked in. It wasn't very bright in the room, despite it being day time. There was a strange looking chair, chains and scratches along the floor and walls. Was this the place Arcana had told her about? The smell of dust and old incense hung thick in the air.

"What is this place?"

Kiri whirled around and gulped, seeing Elsa. Was she asleep or had she been triggered? Either way, Kiri needed to get her out of here before she did get triggered. "Uh, it's not real."

"I can feel it, it is real. What is this? I know the castle is Aurora's castle but this place…It's new…I remember the castle from my dreams but not this place." Elsa walked around, Kiri trying to walk alongside her in a way that kept Elsa from touching the chair or chains. "It smells like incense and blood…And what's this?" Before Kiri saw, Elsa had touched the chair. "OW!" She retracted her hand, probably having been shocked.

_'Damn it, Kiri! Fucking idiot! Should have found the power source and cut it before coming in here!_' Kiri scolded herself. "Elsa, are you okay?"

Elsa was staring blankly at the chair. "I know this place…It's, it's my father's basement…" Her voice trailed off, as if a memory was playing in front of her eyes.

**Ian was holding a burning bundle of incense in front of Elsa. "Elsa, keep your eyes closed. You don't want to see what will happen."

"I don't care what you say, you pathetic piece of shit. I'll do what I want." She was strapped to a chair and smirking.

Ian narrowed his eyes at her, not aware it wasn't Elsa but Nassiri. "I'll teach you respect." He pulled her shirt up to her ribs and held the burning bundle to her stomach. "I'll burn and shock this behavior out of you."

"Like hell your pretentious religion can do shit to cleanse puberty. You're a dumb ass nut case."

Ian backhanded her. "I'm sick of this attitude! You WILL show me the respect I deserve!"

"You deserve to burn in Hell with your so called God for how you treat your only child."

That pissed Ian off over the edge. He flipped the switch and narrowed his eyes as Elsa shrieked from the pain of the shocking. She panted but looked to him, grinning. "You really think shocking me can cure me? For all you know, that's what caused all the problems in the first place." She struggled and broke the ties on the chair, standing. "Don't you know that the brain is nothing but electrical impulses? For all you know, you fucked up my brain. But you're too much a religious freak to even consider that mental health is real."

Ian snapped and threw Elsa against the wall. "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOU THINK! I AM YOUR FUCKING FATHER AND YOU WILL SHOW ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE OR SO HELP ME I WILL THROW YOUR ASS IN JUVENILLE HALL!"

"Sure, why not? The food and warden would probably be better anyway," She shoved him off and laughed. "You really have no clue what you're doing."

Ian screamed and threw one of the angel statues at Elsa, giving her lacerations on her left shoulder and face. "SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

Elsa, forced to front by Nassiri, fell to her knees, terrified. "D-Daddy….I,I,I…"

Her sentence was cut off by Ian's hand on her throat. "Dare you breathe another word and I will throw you out a fucking window," he hissed angrily. "I have had enough of this bullshit attitude you keep giving me. You're a bitch one minute and act like this the next." There was banging on the door until it gave.

"IAN GET OFF OF HER!" Diane had run in after hearing the crash. She pried his hands loose from her neck and stood between them. "I know you hate psychiatry and don't believe in it but I do! There's something wrong with Elsa and you aren't helping!"

"YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Ian smacked Diane so hard she fell to the floor in tears.

"You aren't the man I married…"

Elsa, terrified and heartbroken over seeing her parents fighting, curled into a ball. "It's her fault….All her fault….She should have listened, should have been good…It's her fault…" Guilt and shame set in as she rocked back and forth.

"It's all her fault, her fault. Everything, her fault…."**

"Her fault, her fault….Daddy don't hurt Mommy….Please, she's sorry…." Elsa was on the floor of the room, rocking back and forth.

"Elsa! Elsa!" Kiri had experienced the flashback with Elsa, just as shocked as she was disgusted. She tried waving her hands but got nowhere. "Shit, shit, shit. If I touch her, it might make it worse. God, what do I do?" Kiri looked around frantically and went outside. She found a small bucket and filled it with water. Hurrying back, Kiri dumped it on Elsa without hesitation.

"KYA!" Elsa sprang up and coughed, flailing her arms. "What the hell?!"

"Are you back?"

Severely irritated with the sudden soaking, Elsa rolled her eyes and growled. "I never fucking left. Great, now I have to find somewhere to get dry and change clothes. What'd you do that for, you insane woman?!"

"You were having a flashback and nothing else was working," Kiri did her best to curb her attitude. "I'll take you to where you can get changed, follow me." She led Elsa by the hand out of the room. She made sure to break the knob off so no one else could wander in. The flashback disturbed her. Nassiri had clearly taken things way too far with Elsa's parents. Ian looked to be on the brink of murdering Elsa had Diane not stepped in. It almost reminded Kiri of a day she had to go through with Hans in high school…

**Kiri was making her way to the last class of the day when a pair of hands grabbed her. A hand was on her mouth so the surprised shout was muffled.

"Come with me, you backstabbing bitch!" That was Hans and he sounded infuriated.

Kiri didn't take too kindly to a hand on her mouth. It was too reminiscent of Ian trying to exorcise her from herself. She tried to squirm free and even bite her way free, but it didn't work. When the hand was removed, she whirled around and backhanded him. "Don't ever touch my mouth again. Your hand takes like literal shit," she placed her hands on her hips.

"Whatever. Mind explaining why you let your psycho mother press charges on me? You know what we did was consensual. So you owe me an explanation!"

Before Kiri could speak, Nassiri did. "Simple. I got what I wanted from you and wanted to wash my hands of you. What better way than to side with dear Mommy and get you to leave me alone." _'Fuck you, Nassiri! I may not like him or even tolerate him, but that shit's messed up.'_

_'Like I care. He's just a sniveling brat who gets clingy. He wasn't even that good in bed.'_

Ouch. That was a hit in any guy's pride. Hands on Kiri's shoulders snapped her back to reality. "You better take that back, bitch! I even said I loved you!"

"Nope, not sorry. You were just a way to rebel against my parents. You had what I wanted; danger and pleasure. But the pleasure wasn't even that good," Nassiri nonchalantly replied. "Didn't you ever notice how I never said anything relating to how I felt about you? That's because I never did."

_'Way to twist the knife,'_ the pure heartbroken look in his eyes actually made Kiri feel sorry for him.

"Wh-what? You…you never…." He couldn't even finish his own sentence.

Still Nassiri went on. "Listen to your voice crack. You really think this is the first time you're gonna get that little heart of yours broken? Speaking of little, I expected a little more, if you know what I mean," Nassiri made Kiri gesture to below his waist.

_'Oh dear god, you're ruthless! This poor child…'_ Kiri bit her lip, trying not to look at Hans. Nassiri was truly heartless.

The heartbreak in Hans' eyes quickly turned to fury. He backhanded Kiri, threw her against the wall, used her hair to hit her head against the wall and punched her in the stomach. "I'll find a way to get you back for this, I swear I will! I thought there was something between us but you're just a cold, heartless freak of a bitch!" With another slap in the face, Hans stormed away.

Kiri growled deeply. "That was just heartless and cruel, Nassiri."

"Oh please. If that's how he's gonna react to having his tiny heartbroken, he may as well never date again."

"I just feel sorry that his first crush had to be you. He may have thought it was Elsa, but if he really knew who he was with, he would have left before anything happened." Kiri gathered herself and went to the bathroom to fix the mess that was left in the wake of his heartbreak.**

Kiri blinked, looking around. She felt the back of her head, wondering if there was a bump on it. Kiri shook her head and noticed she was standing in the white forest behind Elsa's castle. Had she managed to get Elsa inside safely? How had she come out here during the flashback? The two things weren't remotely connected. Kiri sat against a tree, groaning. That day, she had actually felt sympathy for an abuser.

Elsa had been taken to a room in a beautiful ice castle. There were others who acknowledged her, which was awkward. She couldn't recall any of them no matter how hard she tried. She just sat in what she was told was her room, on the bed. Elsa didn't know what to do. One minute, she had been watching a movie with her mom and the next she had fallen into this weird world. Maybe she fell asleep and was dreaming. She looked outside the window to see that it was raining. Rainy days were the best. Everything outside smelled fresh after a downpour. She watched the rain droplets on the window, hearing the pitter patter as rain hit the window. Pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter….The sound echoed in her empty room. It reminded her of liquid dropping onto a cement floor in an empty room. Her vision blurred for a minute before focusing again.

**"I can't wait to see my little kitty," Elsa hummed, skipping to the little field by the school. She couldn't have been more than 9. Elsa had found that there was a stray cat there and she'd been feeding it for a while. She'd sneak off during lunch to go feed it. For about a week she had successfully managed to feed the kitty, who she had named Duney. Elsa thought the kitty looked fat until 2 days ago Duney had had kittens. Elsa loved kittens dearly. They were squeaky fuzzballs. "Hey Duney, I brought you some more food," Elsa smiled as she laid the pieces of meat beside the kitten.

"So this is where you're sneaking off to," a voice behind Elsa made her jump.

It was Hans. Why was she not surprised that he had stalked her? "Leave me alone, I'm not hurting anyone."

"For all you know. Don't you know that cats can't eat human food? They can get sick," Hans grinned.

Elsa frowned. "Please just leave us alone. She needs to feed her kittens."

Hans tilted his head to look over Elsa's shoulder. He saw Duney and her kittens and smirked. "Cats don't belong outside. A wild coyote can come along and eat them."

"They can run," Elsa fidgeted, nervous.

"They can run but they can't hide." Hans leaned down and picked up Duney. The cat hissed and tried clawing him. "Oh, really, cat? How about this…"

Elsa saw a knife in his hand and grabbed his wrist. "DON'T HURT HER! SHE'S A MOMMY!" She pulled back with all her weight to keep him from raising his hand.

The little kittens were mewing loudly and Elsa went to cover them. "Don't hurt the babies either!"

Hans raised an eyebrow. "Don't need to," he stabbed Duney, twisted the knife and let the cat fall. "With Mommy dying, the kittens will die on their own."

Elsa shrieked and stared at Duney, crying. "HOW COULD YOU!" She tackled Hans, knocking him over. "SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" She punched him a few times before she lost her balance and fell on him. With another shriek, there was a sharp pain in her side. She stumbled off Hans to find there was small slice in her side and she was bleeding. "I…I….Blood…." Elsa shrieked "fire" as loud as she could like Diane had taught her, Hans bolting away. Her vision got fuzzy as she fell next to Duney, the sounds of the kittens mewing and footsteps running were all she heard before she blacked out.**

Elsa jolted back to reality and clutched her side, tears in her eyes. How could Hans hurt an innocent cat? One that was a mother, no less? She couldn't remember if Duney and her kittens had gotten rescued or not. Elsa held one hand to her side, wincing in pain, as she stared out the window. Slowly, her tears were stopping. Memories were slipping back to her. Just how much of the childhood she knew was a lie?

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_**Please don't hate me guys. I hated writing that scene but I felt it would really show how fucked up Hans' is to Elsa. God, that killed me to write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next few ones will focus on what memories everyone has.**_

_**Also, I finished fixing all the typo's in "The Storm Inside of Me," even added a few things extra in chapters plus a bonus chapter. Go check it out and see what's new!**_

_**See you in the next chapter!**_


	19. Alter Ego (Elsa, Alters)

_**Ready for a ride, my readers? I hope so, for this chapter is a roller coaster! **_

_**TW: time loss, flashbacks, blood, fighting, co-hosting, alter switching, forced fronting**_

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Chapter 19- Alter Ego (Elsa, Alters)

Elsa sighed and paced, restless. She'd had enough of this dream world and wanted to wake up. So she left the castle and began wandering around, hoping that she'd just wake up. Elsa found a dark area with a small spot of light. "That's got to be it," she assumed, walking toward it.

Anna was sitting with Diane, eating lunch. They were talking about students and fads in school when Anna's hands started moving. "Eh? Who the what now?"

Diane tilted her head. "Who do you think it is?"

"Who else could it be? It's me, Mom," Elsa replied.

"But it's also me?" Anna blinked, confused. "I think it's Elsa?"

"I must be really out of it to be talking like that. So Mom, what's up?"

Diane stifled the giggle that was trying to come out. Watching Anna and Elsa both try and talk, with their expressions being equally baffled, was kind of funny. "Nothing much, Elsa. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well. How long was I asleep?"

"I dunno, a couple of hours?" She picked up their dinner dishes and took them to the kitchen.

"Did I completely space out on eating dinner?" Elsa looked at the table, seeing a whole chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.

"You could say that," Diane replied. "Are you still hungry?"

"Starving! I feel like I haven't eaten in so long!" Elsa rubbed her hands together as her mom made a plate of food for her. "Man, it smells amazing!" She gobbled up the the potatoes and tore into the kitchen. When she was done, only the bare bones of the chicken legs were left. "That was so good!" Elsa stretched and looked to Diane. "So Mom, what's up?" She was unaware her hands, controlled by Anna, were picking up Anna's medication and a glass of milk beside her. She took a gulp of milk, unaware she had taken medicine. "So, what time is it, too?"

Diane smiled. "Well, it's close to 6 p.m. And as for what's up, not much. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good. I had this dream where I lived in a castle with a bunch of other people."

Diane stopped and turned to the counter, staring at the camera that Dina had given her and Kiri. "Elsa, there's something I think you should see." She took the camera and moved to the couch. "Come here and watch this."

Curious, Elsa got up and sat by her mom. "What's up? You seem serious all of a sudden."

"Just watch this." She turned the camera on, went to the menu and selected the only video. "This was recorded earlier today."

Elsa turned her attention to the viewfinder of the camera.

**"Hey, Elsa!" Video Elsa said. "It's gotta be strange watching yourself talk and not actually be talking. Anyway, to my point!" She held up a sharpened pencil. "Okay, that was just bad. Today's date, as you can see by this conveniently placed calendar here, is Sunday, August 7th, 2016. It's around 1:30 p.m. and we just had a session with your psychiatrist Dina. We talked about your denial, what caused it and how to help. This video journal and the other journal "The Missing Pieces" are the ways we're helping." The camera turned to Diane. "Any words for Elsa?"

Diane blinked and smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Um, hi, baby girl. You've got something pretty serious going on in that complex little brain of yours. But no matter, I will always love you and always be here for you. I love you, Elsa. I love all the other people you live with, too."

The Elsa on video made a face. "And on that note, we end this first video journal. See ya later, twerp!"**

The camera went back to the video selection screen and Elsa sat silent for a moment. "Wait, when did we record that? Why was I talking so strangely? What's going on?"

Diane sighed. "Your psychiatrist diagnosed you with something pretty serious. And she told me that having you record and write down things when you're not here will help."

"How can I write and record when I'm 'not here?' That makes no sense."

"I know but in time it will."

Elsa put a hand to her head, feeling dizzy. "Mom, I don't feel so good…"

Diane frowned. "Oh no, I think I know what happened. Anna?"

"Yeah, Mom, what's up?"

"Huh? That's not my voice!" Elsa frowned.

"Shoosh, Mom's talking."

"Anna, did you take your medicine?" Diane sighed, trying not to be amused with the self-argument Elsa was having. She shouldn't have been amused but the expressions Elsa and Anna were making were just priceless.

"Yeah, why?"

"Were you in complete control or just a little?"

"Just a little. Why does that matter? I took my medicine." Anna scratched her head, making Elsa do the same.

"I think you may have gotten Elsa sick by doing that."

"Mom, who on Earth are you talking to?" Elsa rubbed her eyes. "There's no one here but us."

_'And the rest of us,' _Kiri sighed.

_'Now now, Kiri. One step at a time. Let her come to terms with all of this-again.' _Nia laughed gently._ 'After all, it is a lot for someone her age to take in.'_

"Wait, hold the phone. Who were all those people I just heard? It was like they were right next to me," Elsa looked around, extremely confused.

"That's what I mean, Elsa. You're never alone. Those people you dreamed are real, along with the castle," Diane ran her hands through Elsa's hair.

"Yeah, uh, sorry if you get sick, Elsa. I take medicine for my, what was it called Mom?"

"Schizophrenia."

"Yeah, that. I guess I have to be all out when I take it or someone gets sick. Oh crap, does that mean it won't have an effect on me?" Anna paced around, making Elsa do the same.

"Mom, why am I moving?" Elsa looked worried.

"Anna, sit, please. Don't forget that when you co-front, you make Elsa's body move as well," Diane watched Anna pace.

"Sorry, Mom. I just feel restless."

"So do I," Elsa frowned as her and Anna sat. "I don't feel so good." Elsa's arm twitched and she started shivering. "I'm not cold, why am I shaking?"

Diane raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, let me do some quick research." She got up and went to the computer in the dining room. She sat there for a few minutes then came back to the couch. "Okay, Elsa. Don't get too worried but you're experiencing the side effects of Anna's antipsychotic medication."

"Who's Anna?"

"I am, silly. I've been here a while, ya know." She started fidgeting. "I can't focus. I need to just move, keep moving," Anna stood, taking Elsa with her as she moved about the room.

"Anna, please sit down."

"Please sit down," Anna repeated, unable to make her own thoughts and sentences. "Sit down, sit down."

Diane took a deep breath and centered herself. Anna was an undifferentiated schizophrenic. Which meant that Anna showed symptoms from two different schizophrenia types. Which two Dina hadn't quite figured out yet but one was definitely the paranoid type. "Patience, Diane. Just be patient."

"Patient, be patient," Anna repeated.

"Anna, was it? Could you just sit down? Please? I'm gonna throw up," Elsa groaned.

"Throw up, gonna throw up…" Anna murmured as she scurried about the room. "Patience, sit down, patience…"

"Mom, I need a bag or something…" Elsa managed to control her arms and wrap them around her lower torso. "I have to puke now or I'll just spew everywhere…"

"Of course, sweetie," Diane ran into the nearest room and grabbed an empty trash can. "Here ya go."

"Tha-" Elsa vomited into the empty bin, her legs giving out from under her.

"Whoa, I got you honey," Diane jumped and caught Elsa before she hit her head on the end table behind her. "I'm here, sweetie, I'm here," she stroked Elsa's hair while her daughter cried and complained of muscle aches. "I wish I had the cure, I really do." Diane suppressed her urge to cry. That would only make Elsa feel worse about what was going on.

"Mom, why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" Elsa cried.

"I'm sorry, Elsa! I'm so sorry!" Anna whined.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear you! Any of whoever you all are!"

"But I didn't mean…"

Elsa felt just how badly her words were hurting Anna but she didn't care. "I said shut up! Just leave me alone! Go away forever!"

"Elsa, don't take it out on Anna or the others. They can't help that they exist," Diane shook her head. "You did nothing to deserve any of this. It isn't your fault. If I could make it all go away, I would." She held her daughter tightly. "But no matter what happens, I'll always love you and always be here for you."

_'Oh, you poor Snowflake. Please, do be kind to us. We mean you no harm, only good intentions. We do apologize for the inconvenience we cause you,'_ Astra frowned, holding Anna who was crying. _'We understand the nature of your condition more than anyone but please do not lash out at us.'_

"Make the voices stop! I don't want to hear them!" Elsa clamped her hands over her ears. "I don't want this…I don't want it, don't want it…."

Diane bit her lip, trying to calm Elsa's tremors. "It's all okay, baby girl. Dina and I will help you through everything." Elsa's tremor's stopped and Diane studied her daughter carefully.

Ayalah looked around, squirming from Diane. That was an awkward hello. She moved from the living room to the bathroom, feeling something cold and wet on her clothes. Looking in the mirror, Aya saw she was covered in vomit. Not only that, but she was in Elsa's body again. Was this how it would be every time she fronted? Stuck in another person's body? Regardless of that, she needed a shower. Stripping down, Aya turned on the water and stepped inside the shower. The warm water felt wonderful on her skin. It was always relaxing. Now that she had a chance to be on her own, Aya reflected about what she had done recently. More specifically, what had happened at school a few days ago.

**Aya was in class, doing the work like she was assigned to. The teacher had stepped out for a moment to talk with another teacher for who cared why. Students naturally started talking and goofing off. Some tried starting fights with her but she just ignored them. Aya was better than stupid high school drama. Besides, her work was almost done. That meant she could draw the rest of the period. So Ayalah ignored the paper wads and hurtful remarks thrown at her. She didn't even give them a glance as she finished her work and put it in her backpack.

"Hey Snowfreak, stop ignoring us! We know you're nuts not deaf."

Aya just sighed and ignored Kayla. That, bitch, was always trying to start shit. Aya suspected it was because she was jealous of Elsa and her natural beauty. Kayla was a brunette with a spotty complexion and the frizziest hair Aya had ever seen-next to Anna. Boring brown eyes and a slightly chubby figure. Next to Elsa, Kayla was a mess-and not even a hot one. Aya just focused on her artwork until it was snatched out from under her.

Temper, Aya. Don't let these immature assholes get under your skin, Aya reminded herself. Everyone is insecure and looks for a scapegoat. Don't stoop to their level. She breathed deeply, watching calmly as her art was torn. Man, It was getting harder not to flip a desk onto this bitch. A calm river, gently flowing into a serene waterfall. Find your happy place. Not even a sound was made as a sudden rush of cold water fell over her head. Okay, that's it!

Ayalah stood so fast her desk flipped. She whirled around and punched Kayla as hard as she could, knocking the whiny skank down onto the floor. Kayla wanted to play? Fine, but Aya played to win. She kicked Kayla a few times and picked her up, head butting her. Aya dropped Kayla into her chair and fixed her desk, the quick fury replaced with guilt and shame. No better than anyone else, just another high school drama queen, Aya scolded herself. Should have handled it calmer. But damn did Kayla have that ass whooping coming.

The teacher returned and Aya didn't even wait. She made gestures to show the teacher what she had done. Of course she was sent to the office but at least she had taken responsibility for her actions-unlike any of those other sniveling brats in class. After class, Aya was waiting in the parking lot when heard a gun shot in the distance. At first, it was nothing. But she started having a migraine and images of a gun to her head flashed before her eyes. The pain got worse and worse. When Aya blinked again, she was somehow standing in the middle of the soccer field, curled in a ball. How did she get here? What had happened? Dina had spoken of triggers in a session before, so was it possible that gun shots were a trigger for Ayalah? She scratched her head and went back to the parking lot to wait for Diane.**

Aya shook her head and stopped the water, having finished cleaning up. That was one hell of a day. Maybe now those brats would show some respect for Elsa. Though if they didn't for Kiri, what would make it any different with Aya? Well Kiri tended to act like Elsa when she was in school, but Aya was herself. So maybe now that they knew what "Elsa" could do, the kids just might leave her alone. Hopefully. She stepped out of the shower and dressed herself, making sure to put on a hoodie. Walking out to the living room, Diane was sitting on the couch, leaning over with her hands in her hair. Aya sat beside her, starting to warm up to her.

"Hey, Aya. I don't suppose you know where in the inner world Elsa is?" Diane looked up to see Aya frown. "I thought not. At least she might be safe there. I really wish there was more I could do to help her," Diane wiped her eyes.

Aya awkwardly put her arm around Diane, trying to comfort her.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I just hope when Elsa wakes up, there's nothing to trigger her."

Elsa was totally lost. There were so many questions. One of them was where the hell did her vision go? When her vision did clear, Elsa saw she was in class. There was a journal in front of her with the writing "The Missing Pieces" on the cover. Hadn't that video mentioned this book? Curious, Elsa opened it where the little ribbon was.

_'Little Snowflake,_

_I know this is going to be rough for you. I do apologize for that. I've done everything I can to make sure when you come back, it'll be easy for you. Your classwork and homework are both done so you needn't worry about that. Diane packed a brilliant lunch for you so you won't need to socialize to get your lunch. The school staff have been made aware of your condition and are much more understanding of your…spacing out. I hope everything works out for you._

_With love,_

_~Nia.'_

Elsa rubbed her temples, pain radiating behind them. "Oh god, I need to puke again. How long was I gone this time?"

"You never left, you fucking bitch," came a reply behind her.

"Just leave me alone, Kayla. You have issues," Elsa retorted.

"Says the psychobitch."

"Kayla, quiet! Do your work!" The teacher scolded her. "Elsa, keep your comments to yourself."

"May I be excused?" She held her stomach. "I need to vomit."

"Make it quick."

Elsa bolted from the room and to the nearest bathroom. She didn't hesitate to puke into the nearest stall. "Oh god…What's wrong with me?" She wiped her mouth and sat back, having vomited for at least a minute. "That tasted like alcohol…" Her vision blurred again. "What now?!"

**A bright light was swinging overhead, a low humming the only constant sound. There were occasional murmurs and what sounded like water dropping onto the floor. Elsa was on her knees on the floor, panting. "D-daddy….No more, please…" She barely whispered out.

"We must continue the liquid cleanse until the demons are gone. I will do nothing to ensure the safety of your pure, immortal soul," Ian approached with a glass and tilted Elsa's head back. He opened her mouth and poured the drink in, closing her mouth. "Drink it, Elsa. Demons can't stand holy wine."

She did as she was told and nearly gagged. "Awful…It burns…..My stomach…."

_'Hang on, kid. I'm coming,'_ Kiri sighed._ 'You can't take much more. You're in pretty bad shape. I didn't think you'd stay awake long enough for me to get here. I'm sorry he burned you with that cross.'_

"I can't…just wanna escape…" Elsa whispered.**

"Escape, escape…Need to escape…Window, break a window, she has to escape!" Arcy scrambled from the stall and looked around the bathroom. "Break the glass, she needs to break the glass…" Arcy slammed her fist into the nearest mirror, not even flinching. "Better, she can breathe…" Arcana sighed and looked to her wrist. "Oh no, she was bad, she was bad….Punishment for sure…"

_'Listen to me, Arcana. She wasn't being bad. She need to breathe, right? Breathing is good. She was good, everything is alright.'_

"Nia! Nia, she's scared. She saw the images, the burning….Crosses are bad…"

_'It's okay, my little lovebug. She'll be fine. It was just a memory of someone else's. The cross never touched her. Take deep breaths and spin around like she was taught to.'_

"Okay, Nia. She trusts you." Arcana took deep breaths and spun around, calming down. "Nia, can she come back? This place is dark…"

_'Of course she can come back, she can always come back whenever she wants. Sit down so she won't get hurt first.'_

"Yay!" Arcy sat against the wall and left for the castle.

_'Kiri, go. No one else can and I need to calm Anna and Elsa.'_

_'Man, this denial is becoming a real fucking pain in my ass,'_ Kiri grumbled as she went to front. "Okay, let's wash this shit out of my mouth and get back to class. Hooray." Kiri groaned. The bell rang as she was leaving so she got her stuff from the class and rolled her eyes. The more memories Elsa recovered of Ian, the more Kiri wanted to kick his ass personally. What time was it? Kiri looked to the watch on Elsa's wrist. "Oh, leaving already? Sweet." She casually walked out of the main building to wait for her ride. It was Tuesday the 9th now. Elsa was losing more time. How much more could she lose before it was even more of a problem?

"Hey, bitch! We have a score to settle!"

"Oh, no, not Kayla!"

_'Really, Elsa? The one time you come back quickly and it's when this skank wants to start shit?_' Kiri was getting more and more agitated. "What do you want?"

Kayla huffed up. "I want to settle the score. You got an unfair advantage the other day. You and me, here and now. Who's better?"

"Me, no contest. You're just am average chick compared to someone unique like me. Get on a treadmill and put on some acne cream," Kiri groaned. "I don't have time to deal with your petty shit." Despite Kiri's confidence, she could feel Elsa's fear. It was feeding into her.

"That tears it!" Kayla threw herself at Kiri, pinning her down. "You wanna talk shit? You might at well eat it!" Kayla looked around and grabbed something Kiri couldn't see, shoving into Kiri's mouth.

_'Oh my god, that's actual shit!' _Kiri and Elsa thought, both spitting it out as fast as they could.

"Fine, you want to settle this?" Kiri rolled over, knocking Kayla over. "We'll settle this! Once and for all!"

_'No, don't! I don't want to get in trouble!'_

_'Should have thought about that before. You can thank Aya for this skank wanting revenge.''_

Kiri kicked Kayla over, making her roll a little. "You really want to find out who's better? Ask anyone here! You're a fucking ugly bitch with body issues!" She balled her fists and hit Kayla.

_'Stop it!'_ Elsa forced herself into control. '_I don't want to get expelled!'_

Kiri, pissed off, growled_. 'Too bad. The teachers know what's up with you, they can live with this.' _She kept wailing on Kayla until her anger had fizzled out. Satisfied, she left for the castle.

Elsa was left on top of the poor girl, bloody hands. "Oh god, what have I done?" She scrambled off and helped Kayla sit up. "I, I 'm so sorry Kayla! That's not me, not who I am…I don't even, I can't explain…" She started stammering until she felt something cold on her arm. Elsa looked up to see snow was falling around her. "Oh no," was the collective response from not only Elsa but Kiri and Nia as well. "Not here, not now, not like this…" Elsa frantically looked around, seeing kids staring and pointing. "No, no, no…"

_'Oh fuck, I'm so sorry Elsa! She was going to hurt you and I just lost it! Oh god, I have to fix this!'_ Kiri was starting to freak out. '_Shit, I can't control your emotional snow. Calm down, Elsa, please!'_

Elsa was starting to panic. The snow kept falling and the kids and now even adults were staring. "I have to get out of here….." She didn't bother looking at anyone or anything as she ran.

Nia looked to Kiri and actually glared. It actually scared her. "I, I, I had to do something! She was gonna hurt Elsa!"

Nia just glared. "And you just caused a shit storm. Who the hell knows what can happen now!" Nia, normally calm and loving, was now showing just how scary she could be when angered.

Kiri stared, wide eyed. Not only had Nia just broken her serene expression with a glare, but she had just swore. "Shit, I so severely fucked up…" Kiri's legs gave out as she fell to the floor in a guilty slump by the observation window. "What have I done?"

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_**I hope you enjoyed this! What will happen next? Find out in chapter 20! As always, thanks for reading my fic!**_


	20. Lithium (Elsa, Alters, ?)

_**What a ride we're on, huh? Hope you're enjoying it so far!**_

_**TW: anxiety attacks, co-consciousness, murder, anxiety attacks**_

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Chapter 20- Lithium (Elsa, Alters, ?)

Elsa ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She hurried through neighborhoods, trees, bushes, anything in her way. She just had to get away before anyone made the connection between her and the snow. "I just have to get away, no one will ever know it's my fault…" Elsa panted, stopping for a second to catch her breath. "Why is this happening now? Why was I cursed with this stupid snow?!" Elsa swatted at the falling snowflakes. "Go away!"

_'Elsa, please calm down, little Snowflake. That will only make it worse,' _Nia was doing her best to keep calm despite her anger with Kiri. _'Remember what you were told. Your emotions control the snow.'_

"I don't hear you, I don't hear you!" Elsa covered her ears. "My life was fine until you and those other voices started acting up. Now nothing will ever be the same!" The snow kept falling, a little faster now. "GO AWAY SNOW!" She got up and started running again, tears stinging on her cheeks. _'Why is my life a living Hell? Why me?'_ She tripped over a tree root and landed hard on her left elbow. "Shit!" Elsa sat up and held her arm, breathing heavily. "It feels like it's broken…Crap, crap, crap…What am I gonna do?" Elsa wished with all of her heart that she was half as brave as some of the guys she had seen in school. One in particular, Damien, who she looked up to like an older brother. Quite a few times he had stepped up to keep people from bothering her. He'd even stopped some fights involving Elsa a few times. Elsa remembered one time in particular. She didn't know what had happened prior, but when Elsa looked around, there were a few girls coming toward her. From the looks of it, they wanted to hurt her. One of them even had a knife in her hand. Just what had gone on while Elsa was blacked out?! Damien stepped in between them to calm the girls, telling them that Elsa couldn't help what she said and did sometimes. After a few minutes, the girls left and he turned to her. Damien ruffled her hair and walked off. Elsa really admired him. She wished she could be more like him. But no, right now she was this frightened little child who had gotten herself lost. She was nothing more than a frightened, lost, little child.

"Calm down, Elsa. Let me help." Nia took control of Elsa's right arm and tore a piece of cloth from Elsa's shirt, holding the fabric with her teeth. "I'm gonna wrap it up but we have to go back. If it is fractured or even broken we need medical help for it to heal right." Nia wrapped Elsa's arm up.

"I'm not going back. Surely by now they all know I can create snow. They'll kill me! Just like they did to my neighbor! I don't wanna die!" Elsa sat and looked around, still crying. Somehow she had run from the school to an empty field. "I'm lost…" Her heart started racing more now. "I don't know where I am or how to get home.."

_'Elsa, please, the snow is getting worse. Calm down. Take deep breaths in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Imagine you're floating on a calm river, the sounds of the birds and gentle wind soothing you.' _Nia stroked Anna's hair, still calming down the girl's breakdown. _'Anna, it's going to be alright. She didn't mean such words earlier.'_

_'But she said it and it hurt so much! I just want to be friends and she hates me, I just know it!'_

_'No she doesn't. She just doesn't understand what's going on, please, calm down. Anna, why don't you pick your favorite movie to watch and grab whatever food you want to eat. Curl up in a blanket and watch the movie. It'll help you relax, okay?'_

Anna sniffled. _'Okay…'_

Nia turned to Kiri, who was sitting in her chair with a tall glass of wine in her hand. "Kiri, until this blows over, you aren't to front unless I say. Understood? The last thing we need now is another temper break like the one that caused all of this. I am severely disappointed in you."

Kiri looked up guiltily. "I know, I'm sorry." She took a big gulp of the wine and returned her gaze to her lap. A wave of depression was hanging over Kiri. "What have I done? I could have handled that so much better. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Scolding yourself will do nothing to change this mess you've created," Nia shot an angry glance to Kiri.

"Nia, Arcy is scared. Why is she scared? What's going on?"

Nia tilted her head. Elsa's fear must be feeding into Arcana. "Because someone else close to you is scared. When you care about someone enough, you feel what they feel. Does that make sense?"

"When Nia says it, it does," Arcy climbed onto Nia and held onto her back. "She's sorry about your wings."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." Nia hugged Arcy as best she could. "Accidents happen. My feathers will come back and you can sit under them again." Nia's wings were half feathered but it didn't bother her. She was just glad it didn't trigger Arcy. She returned her attention to the observation window to watch Elsa. "This won't be enough. Arcy, stay here and watch cartoons." She set Arcana on the couch and left to be co-conscious. As she walked through the void, the fragments Nia had been watching for a while seemed to be moving closer together. She only hoped it wasn't Nassiri reforming. Elsa was in too bad a state to deal with that vixen again. But on the other hand, it could be someone else. Or it could just be fragments that would never come together. Nia pushed it aside as she took some control.

Elsa sat curled in a ball, rocking back and forth. The snow kept falling and falling. "Why? Why, why, why?"

Nia looked around for anything familiar. She saw trees, shrubs, tall grass and empty areas. _'Hm, nothing looks familiar. How far had she run? Where's north?'_ She looked to the sky, determining where east and west were by the position of the sun. _'Okay, the sun usually sets on the left of the bedroom, so west is this way.'_ Nia took control of Elsa's breathing to calm her heart. "Elsa, this is your guardian angel. I'm here to help you. But I can only help you if you let me."

Elsa hiccupped between sobs. "I, okay I guess…" She wiped her nose on her shirt. "What do I do?"

Nia took a deep breath and scratched her head. "First, we need to find out which way north is. Do you know which way the school faces?"

Elsa ignored the fact that her angel seemed to talk through her. She just figured that was how angels communicated. "I think it faces south."

"Good. And see the sun? It's setting on the right. That means that's west. So we know all the directions."

"Okay but how is this going to-"

"Shh, I hear people coming. Let's hide." Nia took them behind a tree that was near tall grass. "Don't move or make a sound. I have no idea what these people want."

Elsa kept her mouth closed as she watched from a distance. There were a few people, who looked to be guys, dragging another guy along. Elsa and Nia both watched, curiously, as the group stopped in an empty area of the field. _'What are they doing?'_

_'I don't know, little Snowflakes. Just stay hidden.'_ As the two watched, Nia noticed Elsa's snow had stopped. _'That's great. One less thing to worry about.'_

Elsa tilted her head as she heard some shouting. What were these guys doing here? Why were they arguing? Did someone lose a bet?

_'I have a bad feeling about this,' _Nia frowned._ 'Don't look, Elsa. I don't like what I see.'_

_'Just a little longer. I think this guy lost a bet and has to do something crazy.'_

_'No, Elsa. Look away now.' _Nia tried to move Elsa's hands over her eyes but she couldn't force control.

She ignored Nia and kept watching the group. There was some more arguing before gun shots sounded and two people fell over. Elsa gasped and froze.

Nia covered Elsa's mouth to keep her from screaming._ 'That's it, we're leaving.'_ But Elsa wouldn't move. She was frozen. And her snow was returning. Nia could tell that Elsa knew she just witnessed murder and things were starting to escalate_. 'Not again. Come on, Elsa, we have to go now! Before they see us!'_

_'I, I…There's blood, and they're dead…Why? I can't…No, I can't…I can't deal with this…'_ Elsa covered her mouth on her own and cried a little, her stress and fear building more now. What if those guys saw her? Would they kill her? She pretty much already had a death sentence since her snow was seen by everyone at school. She was doomed to die one way or another. _'Everyone was born to die.'_ Elsa gulped and bit her lip to try and keep from being heard.

_'Wow, that's depressing…'_ Nia kept trying to make Elsa move but shock and fear had her paralyzed. _'Elsa! We need to move!'_

_'Escape…I need to escape…'_

_'Elsa? Elsa! Wake up! God damn it!'_ Nia, nearly groaned. Elsa had gone unconscious, taking control of her body with her. Nia felt her blood pressure rising as the group started moving_. 'Shit, shit, shit! They're moving and I can't get her out of here!'_

_'I've got this, angel. Take care of the kid.'_

_'What the?! Who the hell?!'_ The last thing Nia needed was someone new who might be dangerous. Her frustration kept growing. _'Who are you?'_

_'Worry about that later. We need to get this kid to safety before those guys realize what she just witnessed.'_

_'Okay, that I agree with. For now, I'll trust you. But dare you screw up and you'll end up like Nassiri, only by my hand.' _Nia didn't have time to argue with this new person. On her way to the castle, she noticed the fragments were transparent now. What did that mean? Questions would have to come later, she only hoped that the new person would help Elsa. Nia carried her unconscious Snowflake into the castle and laid her on the couch. "Look what you've caused, Kiri."

Kiri bit her lip, hands in her hair. "I know, I know. I feel as if she just saw something terrible. My heart is racing."

"She just witnessed murder, so I'd say that counts." Nia crossed her arms.

"Oh fuck," Kiri groaned. "But if you and everyone else is here, who's out there?"

Slowly Elsa crawled away from the tree, careful not to crawl over any twigs or dried leaves. The sun was setting, the school faced south. That made the other directions easier to follow. So Elsa slowly and quietly came back the way she had come, finding the school within 45 minutes. There were cops waiting with Diane.

"ELSA!" Diane ran and scooped her up the minute she saw her daughter. "I was so worried sick! Don't ever run off again! What happened?"

Crap, what should be said? "Well, I got into a fight with a bully. She was going to hurt me and I just sorta blacked out. When I woke up, there was blood. I got scared so I ran off. I'm sorry."

The cops talked amongst themselves and came to Diane and Elsa. "Well, that story matches what witnesses told us. Except about the snow. Which we don't believe because it's spring. Kids have such imaginations. You're just lucky that the girl decided not to press charges on you. But next time, don't run off. And better still, don't get into any fights."

One of the cops noticed the wrapping on Elsa's arm. "You hurt, kid?"

"Just a bit. I dunno if it's broken or not."

He took hold of her arm and pushed in several places. "I don't feel any broken bones but you should still get it checked out. There could be a hairline fracture."

"You got it."

"Good," both cops got in their car and left.

Diane turned to Elsa, looking at her closely. "We'll take you to an urgent care first to see about your arm. Then we'll get home. It's time for dinner." She took Elsa to the car and drove them off. They waited at urgent care for a while before Elsa was called back. The situation was explained and x-rays were taken. A while later the results came back. There were no fractures or break, just a minor dislocation. They gave Elsa a sling and sent her on her way home with Diane. There was only silence as the two drove home, until Elsa spoke.

"So, how was your day?"

That was strange. Elsa never talked on the way home. Maybe it was one of her alters? Except Aya, she never spoke. Diane took glances at Elsa when she could, studying body language and expression. Nia always had the body language of a woman in a formal gown, Kiri sat somewhat formally, Anna was wild with her movements, Arcy and Aya both kept their arms and legs close to them. So who was this? Maybe it was someone new? But that couldn't be, Dina had identified all of Elsa's alters, hadn't she?

She stared out the car window, wondering. What was school going to be like now that Kayla had learned her place? What about the other girls? Jealousy obviously had a role in why they bullied Elsa. Guys didn't really seem to care that much, which was typical. "Man, chicks can be cruel."

"What was that?"

"I didn't say anything." Elsa herself was back, wondering what had happened. "Huh? How did I get here? Did you find me, Mom?"

Diane did a double take as they pulled into the driveway. "I think you lost some more time. You had run from school and came back later. Please don't ever run from school again. Find somewhere safe in the building to go if you need to but don't run away."

"I'm sorry, Mom, I panicked. I can't stand the sight of blood. It makes me panic," Elsa frowned.

_'It happens to everyone squirt, don't fret.'_

"Huh? Who said that?"

"Said what?" Diane inquired as she opened Elsa's door. "You were the only one talking."

"But I just heard someone say that it was okay…I am so confused!"

_'Heh, nothing to worry about. It's normal.'_

"There it is again!"

"Elsa, I think you need to eat and then take a nap. You've had a rough day." Diane picked her up and took her inside. "I'll call you out sick tomorrow. You need to recover."

"Yeah, recover, sure," Elsa murmured. She was hearing voices again. It was fine when it was her guardian angel but anyone else and just no. Elsa laid down on the couch and rubbed her eyes, her head pounding. She fell asleep within minutes, the adrenaline from the day finally fading away.

**"Where am I? What's going on?"

"Quiet, Elsa. You've been brought here because we have concern for you."

Elsa squinted against the bright light shining at her. "Who are you?"

"You could say we're doctors, in a way."

"What do you want with me?"

"Your magic."

"M-magic? I don't…"

Her father was standing beside her. "I tried to warn you, Elsa. Now they found out. There's nothing I can do for you now. You refused my help so now they have you." His voice faded as he slowly melted into the shadows.

"Daddy?"

"Elsa, Elsa how could you? I was trying to protect you…You got careless…"

"Mom?" Elsa looked around but couldn't see Diane anywhere. "Mom, where are you?"

"I can't protect you, they won't let me. Why, Elsa?"

"I didn't do anything, Mom!"

Elsa felt a breeze on her body and looked down to see that her torso was cut open. "Wha…What?!" A group of people in protective suits came towards her, needles and sparking poles with balls on the tips in their hands. "What are you doing to me?!"

"Finding out where your powers come from."

"Leave me alone!" She struggled against the restraints, which turned into hands and clawed into her wrists. "LET GO OF ME!" She pulled and twisted, trying to get free. Ice shard started flying from her in all directions, impaling everyone. "No, no, noooooo!"**

"NOOOO!" Elsa sat upright, panting and sweating. "What? Huh?" She frantically looked around, seeing the living room and Diane by her side. "Was that all just a dream?"

"Whatever it was, it was just a dream, baby girl. What happened today after you ran off? Maybe that's why you had a nightmare?" Diane held Elsa, who was shaking and hyperventilating.

"I, I don't know." Elsa replied, trying to recall the day's events. "Let's see, Kayla got beat up, I ran into a field, got lost….I can't remember anything after that…It's all a blank up until I woke up in the car."

Diane was increasingly worried for Elsa. She had lost time, someone new seemed to be around and something happened when she had run off. "We need to see Dina, immediately." Diane got up and called Dina, going into the kitchen to talk.

_'What's going on with me? Why am I having these black outs? And what's with the voices? Am I going crazy?'_

_'Nah, you're just going through too much right now, squirt. You'll be alright.'_

Elsa held her head. This migraine was killing her. What day was it? What time was it? Elsa grabbed the remote from the table and hit the info button, looking for the date and time. It was Tuesday, August 9th and 5:43 p.m. That didn't seem right, though. Last Elsa knew, it was Sunday. Where had the time gone?

"Get cleaned up, Elsa. Dina is going to come over. She agrees that you need to be evaluated immediately."

"Uh, sure…" Elsa went to the bathroom, washed up and changed her clothes. She went to the kitchen, to find something got eat. Looking in the fridge, nothing looked good. But she reached for ham, cheese, pickles and mayonnaise anyway. "I'm just over tired, that's all." Elsa didn't care that her hands ere moving on their own anymore. She just wanted it all to be over as she sat down to eat_. 'This is getting to be ridiculous. I don't think I even know who I am anymore. I hear voices, my body moves on its own and I can't remember too many things. If I'm lucky, I'm going crazy. That would explain everything.'_

"So, you never did answer my question from earlier. How was your day?" Elsa sat back, arm on the back of the chair and foot propped on the other leg.

_'Whatever. I guess my body wants to sit like this. Might as well go with it,'_ Elsa sighed.

Diane raised an eyebrow. "It was alright, I suppose. Work was busy but when isn't it? What about your day?" Diane sat in a chair by Elsa and began writing down how this person talked and acted.

"Eh, it was alright. The girls in class were snobs as usual. I think they're jealous of Elsa because she's prettier than them without even trying. But I gotta say, squirt surprised me when she beat up Kayla. Though that chick deserved to be put in her place. But getting lost sucked. Good thing I know my directions or we'd have never made it back."

"I see," Diane was trying to piece together this new identity, starting with gender. Body language suggested a guy, since none of Elsa's female alters sat the way this one was. Who was it?

"Well, I make a mean sandwich. But, I gotta go. See ya later!"

Diane shook her head as the new persona left, leaving Elsa's body limp for a few seconds. Who would come out next? There was no way of knowing. Diane only hoped it would be someone she knew as she went to answer the knock on the door.

* * *

**_What's this? Could it be a new alter? Find out in the next chapter! As always, thanks for reading!_**


	21. Nobody's Home (Diane, Dina, Alters)

_**Hey guys! This might be the last chapter for a while. I'm dealing with some mental issues and it is greatly affecting my ability to write. Sorry. So, with that out of the way, let's get to the chapter.**_

_**TW: fronting**_

* * *

Chapter 21- Nobody's Home (Diane, Dina, Alters)

Dina walked in and immediately sat by Elsa. "Diane, tell me everything. Time is critical now." She listened as Diane told her what the kids and cops had told her when she arrived to pick up Elsa. "Hm, from the sounds of it, Kiri is a persecutory alter. And she went to an extreme to protect the system from harm. Though in this attempt, she actually caused more harm then good."

"What does that mean? Persecutory alter?"

Dina kept her fingers on Elsa's wrist, tracking her pulse. "There are different types of alters. Kiri, the persecutor, is the type who will protect the system from harm at a reasonable cost. What I mean by reasonable is they won't go to extremes such as murder or incapacitation. It would appear that when this Kayla posed a threat, Kiri responded accordingly. There's probably much more going on in the system which is causing pressure for the alters. Kiri must have hit her breaking point."

"I see. So is it Kiri's fault that Elsa got worse?"

"I would say so. Sometimes, when trying to protect the system, an alter can cause more harm. How long has it been since anyone fronted?"

"A few minutes. Oh, and something else that happened, is Elsa's snow was sort of revealed after the fight. The cops just thought it was imagination but well, we know she has powers."

"Her powers were seen? That is a major stressor. Do you know to what extent the snow was seen?" Dina kept tapping Elsa's forehead, but the girl was still limp.

"The kids described it as a light snowfall just around Elsa and Kayla, the snow following Elsa as she ran."

"Hm, I see."

"What are you doing?"

"Tracking her pulse while no one fronts. There's gotta be something going on that's taking someone a while to front. And I don't know much about the physiology of the disorder, so I want to be sure her heart still beats. What's taking so long? At this rate, I'd welcome Nassiri. At least it's someone to tell us what's going on."

Astrania paced around the den as Kiri kept trying to wake Elsa. "This isn't good. Those fragments are transparent now and now there's someone new! Why hadn't I felt their presence before?"

"Maybe because you were the last alter to form?"

"That's nonsense. I felt everyone's presence whenever they were near. That's how I knew where Nassiri would be before she arrived. I could feel lit. Who is this new person? What is their purpose? Can we trust them? Where are they now?"

"Calm down, Nia. All the stressing and frustration won't help any of us," Kiri tried shaking Elsa. "Wake up sleeping beauty! Damn, nothing."

"And this is the mess you created. You let your temper dampen your better judgment and role as an alter. You put us all in danger and even worse, possibly exposed Elsa's powers to people! People who would no doubt love to take her and do experiments to find out how her powers are even possible! Stay ashamed of yourself!" Nia paced, rustling her hair. "Anna is in no condition to front, she's still getting over her break down. Arcy is asleep and I have no clue where Aya is." She groaned, wishing she could smack Kiri. So, she did. "This is all your fault!"

"I could go…Maybe fix this…" Kiri weakly mumbled.

"I don't trust you to front yet. I could front…" Nia sighed. "Well, no choice. I'll be back." Nia briskly walked out of the castle doors.

Dina was shining a small light into Elsa's eyes when she blinked and turned her head. "Oh, you're up. That took a while. Who are we talking to?"

Nia sighed and rubbed her head. "Nia. I'm so glad you're here, Dina. We all need your help."

Diane blinked. "It's rare that you front, Nia."

"I usually try not to, as the girls need me back home."

"Nia, do you know any of what happened today?" Dina motioned for Diane to grab the camera from the counter. Diane did that, gave it to Dina and sat. "Okay, I'm going to record this so Elsa knows what happened." She turned it on and hit record. "Start from the beginning."

Nia sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Well, Elsa was in school when something triggered her. I haven't figured out all of her triggers yet. But I feel like whatever triggered her gave her a flashback and then Arcy fronted. Arcy didn't want to stay in high school so I sent Kiri to front. The bell rang, kids left the building and Kiri was approached by Kayla. Despite knowing better, Kiri got into a fight with Kayla right as Elsa was co-conscious. Kiri came back to the inner world, leaving Elsa with blood on her hands. I know blood triggers Elsa and she started freaking out. Naturally, her snow started to react to her powers. Which in turn caused panic. So Elsa ran off. She made it to a field somewhere and I decided I had to be co-conscious to help her. Well, she ended up witnessing a murder. That made her have a short freak out until she passed out. When she did pass out, she took control of her body with her. I tried to move her but I couldn't. Then I heard a new voice tell me that they'd take care of things. I didn't have time to argue so I entrusted the new person with Elsa's body and carried the little Snowflake to the inner castle."

"whoa," Diane rubbed her eyes. "My poor girl has been through so much!"

Dina gulped and shook her head. "That is truly horrible. I do feel so bad that she had to see that." She raised an eyebrow. "Did you say a new voice?"

"Yeah. Do you remember those fragments I told you I was watching? Not only had they moved closer together lately but as I was taking Elsa to the inner world today, I noticed they were transparent. I have no idea what that means. Though I'm so relieved that whoever this new one is actually did take care of Elsa. I was worried it would have been Nassiri coming back." Nia slumped against the chair. "Elsa had a reaction to Anna's medicine, which made her snap at all of us. She's currently unconscious and we can't wake her, Anna is recovering from a break down, Arcy has been having recurring nightmares of her past torture and Aya hasn't come back to the castle yet. Kiri is turning into an alcoholic over the mess she created and I'm so stressed I could rip out my hair!"

"Calm down, Nia. Your heart rate is rather concerning," Dina frowned. She turned to Diane. "So I was right. The system is under immense pressure." She returned her gaze to Nia. "And from the looks of it, you're trying to keep everything together."

"It's killing my but yes," Nia sighed. "I'm also worried for Kiri. She was alcoholic before but I fear this may cause her to drink even more. And her guilt combined with the alcohol could lead to possible self-harm. After all, she was the first alter present to protect Elsa. I'm not sure how she'll handle the guilt."

Diane sighed. "Is there anything we can do to help you out?"

"Good suggestion, Diane. Nia, write down anything we can do to help you make things easier. The less stress all of you are under, the better you can live."

"That sounds easy enough. Anything on hand so I can start?"

"I'll grab you some paper and a pen. Should I also get the journal you guys have?" Diane got up and started walking away.

"Not right now," Nia shook her head. "I'm going to check on the girls quickly. I'll be back."

"Be careful," Dina nodded.

Nia left Elsa's body and returned to the castle. "How's it coming with Elsa?"

Kiri shook her head. "I think she's out for who knows how long this time. God, I've fucked up so badly." She ran her hands through her hair and looked behind Nia. "Hey, Aya is finally back."

Aya skipped in happily, hands behind her head. The past few days had been great. No night terrors, no mood swings, just great. She saw Kiri sitting on the couch, looking concerned. She skipped past the new woman, who was a fiery haired woman. Aya didn't know her name or where she came from. But what Aya did know was that she felt safe around her. And safe was always good. Especially after that black winged chick went psycho. Now that Aya really thought about it, this new woman did look a hell of a lot like that psycho. She'd have to keep a secret eye on this woman. Aya went to the kitchen and decided on a fruit salad for lunch. Strawberries, apples, bananas, watermelon, and cantaloupe were all diced and put into a bowl. She poured a 1/4th cup of water into the bowl and sprinkled sugar lightly on top. This was going to be such a good lunch. She took the dish to her room and ate it while she listened to music. What should she wear when she went to school next? Aya sat on her stomach and kicked her feet while she ate. Now that Aya thought about it, this Elsa chick was pretty smart if she was in high school at 13. Kind of made her look bad. But that could be fixed with a bit of studying. Aya sat at her desk and ate, opening a text book to study the lessons she had been given. There was a girl in class that Aya sort of wanted to impress. Her name was Amy and she was pretty much the smartest girl in class. The prettiest, too. Aya couldn't really explain it but she felt nervous and shy around Amy. Aya didn't really know why or how, but there was something different about Amy. Something that made Aya want to be smarter and prettier.

Half an hour later, Aya closed the book and stretched back. History was so boring. The past was the past, let it stay there undisturbed by peeping eyes. Needless to say, Aya didn't like learning about the past. She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. A little tired, she decided to take a quick nap. She curled up under the blanket and closed her eyes.

Her eyes shot open, a feeling of heavy pressure on her chest, arms, legs. She looked around, seeing only a black, furry thing hanging over her. It seemed like its skin was twitching all over. A deep snarling noise made her look up. She couldn't even scream as she looked into a face that was half melted away, flesh and bone exposed. The skin was slowly dripping off the other side. Her eyes moved down to its hand, or what she thought were hands. They were just bone with thorny vines protruding from them. Those, appendages, were holding down her hands. There was cold, slimy thing across her feet, wrapped around her ankles. The creature was snarling, its bright yellow red eyes just staring at her. She couldn't move or even make a sound as it inched closed and dripped saliva on her face.

"Aya! Ayalah! Wake up! It's your night terror! It's not real!" Nia was trying to wake Aya, who was stiff in bed. "Ayalah, it's okay! It isn't real!"

Ayalah woke in a flurry of wild movements, falling from her bed. She accidentally kicked Nia in the arm on her way down. Instantly. She scrambled to her feet and against the wall, looking for that creature. It had just been in here, holding her down, about to eat her…

Slowly, Nia approached Ayalah. "Ayalah, my name is Astrania. I'm here to help you. Take a deep breath and relax. Look around the room. Do you see the creature now?"

Ayalah gulped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She took a deep breath and looked around. It was just her and the woman named Astrania in the room. Had it just been another night terror? She looked around, a slight bit of panic in her eyes.

Astra closed the distance and pulled Aya into a hug. "Everything is fine now. You're awake and that creature won't get you."

Aya relaxed a little, feeling a lot safer. It was just a night terror, Aya, just a night terror. Calm down, everything is fine. It isn't real. Aya kept repeating it over and over until her heart slowed down. She smiled to Nia and sat at her desk, opening her literature book to forget about what she had just dreamt.

Nia watched her for a few minutes before leaving the room. She turned and walked into Anna's room. "Hey Anna, how're you feeling?"

Anna looked up from her book. "I'm feeling better. I need to remember that Elsa doesn't remember us and her taking my meds can make her sick and kinda crazier. I just need like, maybe one more day."

"That's good to hear. Have you eaten today?"

Anna smiled. "I did. Kiri made a grilled cheese sandwich with pickles in it for me and for a side she made this really awesome salad. I think you should try it! I don't usually like salads but hers was bomb!"

"I'll eat in a little bit. I'm checking on everyone right now. But I'm glad you ate and enjoyed it. You need to eat." Nia walked from Anna's door and turned down the hall, going to Arcy's room. She heard quick rustling and some things fall over. "Arcana?" Astra opened the door and peeked inside. Arcy was tossing and turning in bed, inaudible mumbles coming from her. "Arcy, it's okay! It' just a bad dream, it can't hurt her." Nia sat Arcy up and held her close, stroking her hair. "Wake up, sweetie. Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around."

Arcy panted and woke, shocked. "Nia! The black lady! She was back! And it was worse! She was meaner and broke bones and made her bleed more…" Arcy started crying as she snuggled into Nia.

"Oh my little, Nana, no one will hurt her. I promise she's safe." Nia held her close. "Would you like to come with me outside?"

Arcy sniffled. "Sure, she doesn't want to be alone."

"Not to worry, sweetheart. She won't be." Nia picked up Arcy, sat her on her shoulders and walked downstairs. She saw Kiri still sitting by unconscious Elsa. "Keep an eye on her pulse and breathing. Do c.p.r. if you need to. Got it? Arcy and I going to front."

"Shouldn't you eat before you go?" Kiri frowned.

"I'll be fine. You worry about yourself and the others while I'm away." Nia opened the door and walked out. She journeyed to the void and took Arcy from her shoulders. "Okay, it will feel like we're falling. But we'll be okay."

"She trusts Nia." Arcy took her hand "She can do this as long as Nia is here."

Nia smiled and together they went to be co-conscious.

Diane was asking Dina about different aspects of the disorder Elsa had. "So, when someone takes over, Elsa doesn't know what happens when that person takes over? And it's possible for it to happen for no reason?"

"Yes and yes," Dina replied, keeping her fingers on Elsa's wrist. "She has no memories from the alters and what they do. And something as simple as a teddy bear can make Arcy front or even boredom can bring Anna out. Anytime, anywhere, and alter can take control."

"And so we have," Nia responded. "And little Arcana is with us as well. Say hi, sweetie."

"Nia, who's that lady? She doesn't know her…" Arcy held her hands in her lap. "She isn't bad, is she?"

"Not at all," Diane smiled. "And I'm here as well. She has nothing to fear."

"Well, okay. But she's not talking to the lady," Arcy stuck out her tongue.

"That's fine, sweetie. You can talk when you want to," Dina smiled. "Would you like to draw? I have some pen and pencils if you'd like to draw."

Arcy eyed Dina suspiciously. "Hmm…Fine. But no tricks!" Arcy took the pencils and paper and began drawing.

"Don't be surprised by the morbidity of Arcana's art. She always, always draws about what she's been through," Nia told the women.

"So I've seen. Kiri has given me some of her drawings. She has quite a talent for drawing," Dina nodded.

"Thank you," Arcy replied. "Some tell her that she draws things that are too dark. But she doesn't know wht else to draw."

"Dina, is there any way that we can maybe wake Elsa? Surely being unconscious isn't good for her."

Dina shook her head. "I'm sorry Nia, but she has to wake on her own. Should we try anything, it might trigger someone else and that can cause a chain reaction."

"I was afraid of that. But I do have good news. Aya finally came back to the castle. She seems to be in a really good mood for some strange reason. She's usually depressed or temperamental. And Anna is doing much better than she was before. One more day and I feel she can handle fronting."

"That's good!" Diane smiled. "How is Kiri?"

"She's still sort of wallowing in her self-pity. I'm keeping her from fronting until I feel she can handle her temper better."

"That makes sense," Dina nodded. "She is the one who caused this so naturally she's being punished for it."

"Is there any way you can see Aya and Anna soon? I'm concerned about them."

"I can schedule you guys in at anytime. How about next Tuesday?"

"That works. I just feel Anna's schizophrenia needs to be further examined and figure out why Aya acts the way she does," Nia sighed.

"Can she go back Nia? She wants to get some snacks," Arcy wiggled her hands.

"Sure. Be careful sweetie."

"She will be."

Nia felt her shoulders get lighter, as if Arcy had been sitting on Elsa's shoulders. "That feels lighter." Nia stopped in her thoughts when she moved white hair from her face. "That's not my hair. Where is my hair?"

"Don't worry, Nia. You still have your hair. You're just in Elsa's body." Dina patted her hand. "You seem to have a bit of body dysphoria. It's normal for an alter."

"I guess." Nia sighed. "I'm gonna get Elsa's body to sleep. I feel exhausted being here."

"Alright. Diane, remember everything we talked about. Astrania, take it easy and take care of yourself. A system is only as good as its caretaker. Remember to write in the journal and do the video diary. Those will help Elsa very much. Diane, do your part and be supportive of each alter. Speaking of, write down things you notice about this new one, Nia."

"Can do. Goodnight guys." Nia got up and walked into Elsa's room. She had brought the camera with her and turned it on. "Hey, Elsa. It's me, Nia. So we just had an emergency meeting with Dina, your psychiatrist. You saw some, uh, things that you weren't supposed to and you kinda konked out on us all. But you're fine. Kiri is watching over you in the castle and meanwhile, I'll be between here and the castle to make sure everything is alright for everyone. It's about time for some sleep so I'll see you next time. See you later, Snowflake." Nia turned off the camera and set it on the desk. With a flop, she was on the bed and under the blankets, going to sleep herself for the first time in months.

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**_Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Like I said, might be the last chapter for a while until I get my mental health taken care of. Thanks for understanding and as always thanks for reading!_**


	22. Who's There? (?, Anna, Astra)

_**Woo! New update! Yay!**_

_**TW: co-hosting, being co-conscious**_

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Chapter 22- Who's There? (?, Anna, Astra)

Waking up was weird. Usually, the bed was bigger and a lot warmer. But it was whatever. Stepping out of bed, though, was a trip. Was everything taller? And what happened to all of the decorations? Whose room was this anyway?

"Oh hey, you're new."

Who said that? There wasn't anyone else in the room, was there?

"Oh, I get it. You aren't quite with what's going on here yet. That's cool, I'll help you. My name is Anna and I'm one of the people you'll be living with. Do you have a name?"

"I dunno, do I?" Now that it was brought up, there wasn't a definitive answer.

"Strange. Whatever. So, this is normal when you leave the castle. I saw you for like a second. You look pretty cool with your hair spiky and bright like fire. I'll call you Blaise."

Blaise? That was an interesting name. Why not stick with it? At least until a better name was thought of. "Ok, uh, Anna, so what's up? I know why I'm here but I didn't know there was more than one of you guys.."

"Oh, you are with it. Good, so much explanation avoided. Yeah, you're so not alone. So, what brought you here?"

"I don't really know." A brief pause while clothes were put on. "Are you doing this?"

"Oh, yeah. We can't stay in pajamas all day. Sucks but that's life. Anyway, we have to go to school. How old are you?" Anna dressed herself, went to the bathroom and did her hair. She brushed her teeth and walked out, stretching.

"I'm 17, how about you?"

"Wow, you're old. I'm only 13."

Diane tilted her head, listening to Anna and this new persona talk. "Hey Anna, who ya talking to?"

"Oh, it's this new person I named Blaise. I only know that Blaise is 17 so far."

"Hey, what's up?" Blaise waved to Diane.

"Nice to meet you Blaise. Is it alright if that's what we call you?"

"Sure, why not?" Blaise shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Kind of awkward question here," Diane rubbed her head, "But are you a boy or a girl?"

"A bit of both, I guess. I feel comfortable with both genders."

"Oooooh! Neat! Gender fluid! That's so cool!" Anna giggled.

"I guess?" Blaise went into the kitchen and began looking for breakfast. "So what is there to eat around here? I was here only once and I don't remember much."

Diane got up from the couch and walked in. "I'll make something. Do you like waffles, Blaise?"

"Hell yeah! With a crap ton of butter and syrup!"

"That's so many calories though! I'm gonna get so fat!"

Diane shook her head lightly as Blaise and Anna talked about waffles, food, body weight and body types. So, this new person was genderfluid Blaise. So what gender was Blaise now? Diane felt incredibly awkward not knowing the right pronoun to use. "So Blaise, what pronouns should I address you with?"

"Today I feel like a guy so he and him if you would," Blaise replied, putting his knees up on the edge of the table and leaning the chair back.

"Alright. If you ever want me to change the pronoun, just let me know, okay? I want you to feel welcome and comfortable here."

"I appreciate it," he smiled. "Hey Anna, you still here or there or whatever?"

"Yep! Right here! Just gotta take my medicine. Let me slip into control for a minute here…" Anna took control and fronted, getting up to get her medicine. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering, how many others are there?"

Anna took a big drink and downed her pills. "Well, I'm not too sure I'm allowed to say so I'll just say that you'll have to meet them on your own."

"I guess that's cool. So fill me in on some stuff here guys. I'm obviously not in the 17 year old body I'm used to. What's the technical details here?"

Diane smiled as she laid down a plate of waffles in front of Blaise and Anna. "Well, the girl whose body you're in is named Elsa, she's 13, in high school, and doesn't socialize at all. That's where Anna comes in. Anna is the social butterfly Elsa wishes to be. I'm not sure what part you play yet. I just met you. Though would you mind writing down some stuff about yourself for the psychiatrist Elsa sees? Her name is Dina and she had helped us all immensely."

"Yeah, no problem. Let me just scarf this down really quick. I am starving!" Blaise picked up the fork and knife and began eating. Now and then he had to stop to argue with Anna over the benefits of eating and why puking it back up was harmful to a body. When he was done eating, Blaise took the pen and paper from Diane and wrote down some basics about himself. He slid it to Diane. "Hope that's enough. I'm not too good at this kind of thing."

"Whatever you're comfortable with sharing is enough for me." Diane replied as she read over the paper. Anna had named him Blaise, he was 17, American, 5'6", no weight was given, he was genderfluid, enjoyed sports and musicals, and was a bit muscular. That was plenty for Diane to work with. "Do you want me to get you some clothes for when you're a guy?"

"Maybe a bit later. For now, I'll be fine in whatever Elsa has to wear. It won't bother me much. The only issue I have right now is sight. Everything is fuzzy and distant."

Diane tilted her head, confused. Was it possible for alters to have different eye sight? She'd have to ask Dina. "Hm, maybe a visit to the optometrist would help with that. For now, see if you can sit closer to the front of the class. I'll see what all our vision insurance covers."

"I appreciate it. Oh, should I call you Mom or what?"

Diane shrugged. "That's really up to you. A few of the others see me as their mom and others don't. So If you want to call me Mom, it's your call."

"I think I will," Blaise leaned back in the chair again. "It'd just make things easier, ya know? So, is there anything else I need to know about before I live Elsa's life?"

Diane weighed out whether or not she should tell Blaise about Elsa's powers. "Well, there is one thing. See, I'm a direct descendant of Elsa Swan. Her powers skipped me and Elsa inherited them. So, if you could keep them under control, if possible, that'd be great. There's only one person I know of so far who can control her snow. The other, well, she's dead from how dangerous she was." Diane caught herself rambling. "Anyway, Elsa's snow reacts to her emotions. If Elsa does ever wake up, try and help her stay calm, okay?"

"You got it, Mom!" Blaise nodded.

Kiri paced back and forth, staring at Elsa on her bed. "Come on, Snowflake, wake up! I'm sorry I snapped at what's her name and caused all this. We're all so badly worried about you. Please wake up!" She sat by the edge of the bed and leaned her head against the mattress. "God, I was so stupid to let my temper take control. Why do I have to be the persecutor? I take and do the bad things. That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?" She looked to Elsa, another wave of guilt hitting her. "Yeah, it does…" She sighed heavily and rustled her hair.

"Don't beat yourself up, Kiri. The past is the past," Astra stood on the door way, arms crossed. "Guilting yourself will do nothing to help her come back to us."

"Gah, don't say it like that! It makes it sound like she's dead or something…" Kiri frowned. "How's Arcana doing?"

"She's fine now. I managed to calm her and reassure the poor girl that her nightmares aren't coming true. The poor girl has been through so much thanks to Nassiri."

"I'm just glad the bitch is dead," Kiri mumbled.

"Indeed. I'm going to check on Anna. She left with that new person. I don't know a thing about who they are yet. I just hope they mean well." Astra quickly turned on her heel and left for the real world. Astra was getting more and more used to the free fall gravity slam that was being co-conscious. "Hey Anna, how is everything going?"

Anna blinked and laughed, not expecting Nia to interrupt them. "Hey Nia. Things are good. You interrupted a fashion talk with me and Blaise."

"Blaise? Is that who the new person is?"

"Ask him yourself. Nia, this is Blaise. Blaise, this is Nia." Anna made introduction gestures though to a normal person it just looked like Elsa was waving her arms back and forth.

"Hey, Nia! Guess you're one of the others, huh?" Blaise nodded. "That's cool. So, what do you do for our little system?"

Blaise was rather blunt. "Well, I'd say I'm the caretaker and organizer. The sort of go to between some of us. So uh, since I don't know much about you, tell me some stuff I guess?"

"Well, I'm gender fluid, going by he and him pronouns right now. Anna named me Blaise because of my bright orange hair and I like sports and musicals. I don't know what my job is in our world yet. I just sort of, popped up."

Nia nodded, making all of them nod. "I see. Would you mind introducing yourself to Elsa on paper and camera? We all write journal entries to her and make video diaries so she knows where time goes and what happens."

"Yeah, no problem." He got up and let Anna guide him back to Elsa's room, showing him where the camera was. "Ooh, neat camera. Okay, let's get this thing going." He laid on the bed and turned the view finder to him. "Where's the on button? Oh there it is. Uh, it is recording? Hi Elsa. I'm new here. My name is Blaise and I just want to help you. I'm not quite sure what my job is in helping you yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. It's, what, Wednesday the 10th or something. It's early in the morning and things are good. You've eaten and bathed and what not. I promise Anna did the bathing and not me in case that creeps you out. So yeah, that's it. Peace!" He turned off the camera and set it down. "I am not good at that but oh well." He saw the desk with the journal and quickly wrote an entry.

_'August 10th, 6:43 a.m._

_Hey Squirt! The name's Blaise. I just made a video diary to you. Not sure what else I'm supposed do for you but I'll do what I can. Stay safe kid!_

_~Blaise.'_

He packed up Elsa's back pack with the camera and journal, made sure he looked good and got himself ready for school.

_'Don't cause trouble like someone else already has, okay?'_

_'I'll be fine, Nia. Diane told me how Elsa acts and I'm gonna stick to that.'_

_'Ok, thanks. Anna, help him out. Stick with him today in case he needs help knowing where to go and locker info and all that.'_

"Can do! Let's go Blaise! I'll be your invisible tour guide of the school today!"

Blaise just smiled as he walked out of the house to Diane's car.

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_**Between work and rewriting my novel, I barely have time to do anything anymore. But I thank all of you for your patience with me. I promise this will all be worth it soon. As always, thank you for reading/faving/following! See you in the next chapter!**_


	23. Let's Go (Blaise, Anna)

_**Wow has it been a long time since I posted an update. Long story short, life is a bitch sometimes. Quick update, girls are healthy and happy, i left my fiancee for a number of reasons but I've moved on to a much better man and I'm looking for a new job. I felt with the new movie Split coming out, that people needed to be reminded how D.I.D **__**REALLY**__** is. Now onto what you guys really want to read! Hope you all enjoy!**_

_**TW: co-conscious/co-fronting (a lot of conversation takes place inside their head, so just a heads up on that. I tried to identify the speaker as best as I could)**_

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Chapter 23- Let's Go (Blaise, Anna)

Blaise put his feet up on the seat as he chatted with Anna on their way to school. "So, Anna, what kind of mess am I stepping into?"

"Oh, just the usual high school drama. Some people are meaner than others because they particularly don't like Elsa, but that doesn't really bother us. We just sort of protect Elsa from all of it. I don't think she's learned much school wise because of that," Anna rubbed her chin, Blaise mimicking the action.

"It feels weird to move without me making the movements," Blaise laughed.

"Oh, yeah. That's what Astrania calls co-fronting or co-conscious."

"What's the difference?"

"Co-fronting, you don't know someone else is there, co-conscious, you do know someone else is there."

"Oh, that's simple," Blaise nodded. "So what do the classes look like?"

Diane smiled. "Typical high school courses. English literature, earth science, algebra, world history, choir and dance p.e. Your school day is typically 5 hours long, with an extra half hour added for lunch. Classes start at 8 a.m. and you get out at 1:30 p.m."

"Sweet, I can dig the lunch hour. It might turn out to be my favorite subject," Blaise laughed at his own joke. "I crack my self up, dude. Good thing I'm not an egg."

Diane chuckled softly. "You're the funny one of the group."

"Thanks, man." He turned his attention to the school as they pulled up. "Oh wow, so Elsa got into upper secondary school. Don't worry, with our help, Elsa will graduate. We won't let you down, Mom dude."

Diane shook her head with a smile. "Mom dude. That's a new one. Have a great day at school, guys."

"Thanks, Mom! See ya at 1!" Anna waved as she stepped out of the car. "Okay so I'll take you to her locker and open it. When we first started in this school, Kiri wrote down everything we needed to know to get through the day. Carry that paper with you and I'll be hanging around if you need any help!"

Blaise shook his head. "Pretty sure talking to me seems normal, but to everyone else, it looks like Elsa is talking to herself," he whispered.

_'Oh, right! I tend to forget that others can't see all of us. They just see Elsa. My bad,' _Anna rubbed her head, making Blaise mimic her. _'I keep forgetting that along with the whole co-front/co-conscious thing makes both people move the same, like a mirror. I can be so air-headed sometimes.'_

_'No worries, Anna. After all, it's who you are.'_ Blaise confidently walked through the halls, following Anna's directions to the locker. _'I think everyone can tell Elsa is a bit different today. I guess I need to tone down my stride. Anna, how does Elsa usually walk?'_

_'She usually holds her books to her chest, avoids eye contact and hurries along. She doesn't like to linger where there's a lot of people for too long. She has major social anxiety.'_

_'Okay, and what about things like sports and after school activities?'_

Anna thought for a moment. "Ya know, I don't think any of us have ever seen Elsa play sports. So I couldn't tell you if she'd be good at it or not. Better not try it just to play it safe. As for after school activities, that's a negative, chief. She rushes as fast as she can just to get home."

_'Anna, you spoke out loud again,'_ Blaise peeked from behind the locker door, grateful the hall was so noisy. It didn't seem anyone had noticed Anna's words.

_'Whoopsie! Oh there is one person that Elsa talks to. Well, actually it's me but she doesn't know it's me. Her name is Melody. I'll let you know hen I see her so you can at least have one person to talk to.'_

"Right," Blaise whispered as he closed the locker. He had the English book and followed Anna's directions to the first class. _'How does she perform in class? I get the feeling she's very reserved, even withdrawn.'_

_'You got it. She never talks to anyone. Kiri and I usually handled the schooling but thanks to a little mishap Kiri is on a temporary ban from the outside world. So it's just been me. I'm a bit of a social butterfly, though I toned it down to match Elsa. Just be smart and a bit funny now and then and I think you'll do fine._' Anna sat them in Elsa's usual desk.

Blaise nodded as the teacher walked in. "Okay class, I hope everyone studied. We're having a pop quiz." The collective class groaned, aside from Blaise, who was clueless to everything.

_'Don't worry, bro, I got you. I kept up on studying. We'll ace whatever pop quiz is thrown at us. Unless it involves the Odyssey stuff. That just confused me.'_

Blaise stifled his laugh with a cough as his quiz was handed to him. "Elsa, I hope you have your packet. Absence is no excuse for falling behind."

"I have it, teach! Just give me a sec," Anna answered as she bent and picked up the backpack. She rifled through it before finding the literature packet. "Here ya go!"

"Hm, very well." He took the packet and finished handing out tests before returning to his desk.

_'Okay so if I remember right, Dina, our psychiatrist, gave the principal a note that says we can record classes on camera for Elsa. And that was supposed to have been shown to all of her teacher's. After the test, let's take out the camera and record the lesson.'_

_'Alright. When do you think she'll see it?'_

Blaise could feel the hesitation and sadness before Anna spoke.

_'We don't know. From what Astrania says, Elsa was in pretty bad shape when you showed up. We don't know if she'll ever recover from this, any of this.' _Anna did her best to perk up. _'But that doesn't mean we can't help her get better sooner, right?'_

"Indeed little Anna," the lightest whisper sounded now. _'Whoops, didn't mean to speak.'_

_'Hey it's the voice of that other lady,'_ Blaise blinked. _'Sorry, I forgot your name.'_

_'Just call me Nia. I'm just fronting to see how everything is going for you so far.'_

_'Nia here calls herself the caretaker. She looks after everyone and decides who fronts. She's what holds our little system together sometimes.'_ Anna's joy was infectious and Blaise smiled.

_'Well, pleasure to formally meet you. Though, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to focus on this pop quiz. Anna could you help me here? I don't know everything here.'_

_'Oh my, I hadn't seen you were testing. I'll return later and then we can discuss how your adjusting. So long for now!'_

Blaise stifled his groan, feeling light headed and a bit nauseous. _'Ugh, do you guys always feel like this after one or more of you show up in this world?'_

_'We all have different reactions but nausea is the common ground. I'm feeling it, too. Don't worry. Let's get this quiz done!'_

Anna focused her attention to the test and completed it with ease. After every one had handed in their quiz, Anna took out the camera and little tripod, setting it up on the desk to record the lesson. She did this for every class, being sure to turn in the packets the teacher's had given her while Elsa had taken time to recover from her injuries. Blaise watched how Anna handled some of the other girls bullying her, taking note of the body language and vocal tones. Anna seemed to be the closest in behavior to Elsa. During lunch, Nia surprised both of them by fronting again.

_'Hello, dears!'_

"Holy shit!" Blaise and Anna both exclaimed, dropping their grilled cheese sandwich.

Nia stifled her laugh._ 'Didn't mean to startle you. Please continue eating.'_

_'Some kind of warning, woman! Sheesh! Blaise almost choked,' _Anna rolled her eyes.

_'I'm cool, Anna. Just need to drink some soda and I'll be alright.'_

_'Wonderful. So, Blaise, how are you adjusting to this life?'_ Nia asked, tilting her head.

_'Relatively easily. I kind of like high school. It's like I was born to be here or something. Though I gotta admit, it does feel weird being in a girl's body.'_

_'Why does that feel weird?'_ Anna questioned as she took a bite of the sandwich now.

_'Well, I'm a dude but I feel comfortable as a chick, too. And today, I feel like a dude, so being a dude in a girl's body is kinda weird. It's like I'm me but not me, ya feel me?'_

Anna's blank expression took over Elsa's face. _'Uh, not really. Nia. What does he mean?'_

_'Why not ask him? I'd like to learn myself.'_

"You mean there's something you don't know?!" Anna couldn't help but blurt out loud. She quickly realized her mistake and acted like she was on a phone. Not like it mattered though, as no one even looked in her direction.

_'Yes, Anna. There are things I don't know. But I'm willing to learn.'_

Blaise was about to begin explaining when the lunch bell rang. He stood, emptied his tray and went to the locker. _'How about I explain after we get home? Don't need distractions while in class.'_

_'But that's so far awaaayyyy!'_ Anna whined.

Nia laughed. _'I can wait, you do have a point. I'll see you then Blaise.'_

Once again Blaise was light headed and nauseous as Nia left. _'I think I can handle things from here, Anna. Why don't you go to wherever it is you guys go and we'll meet up later?'_

_'Sure, I could use some relaxation anyway.' _Anna stretched as she led Blaise to world history next. _'Just shout if you need us, got it?'_

_'You bet.'_ Blaise felt a thousand times lighter and a little more nauseous as Anna left. He was now alone, completely alone. As he sat in the place Anna told him to always sit, the teacher began a movie. She walked up to Blaise and asked for the packet, smiling when she received it. Blaise sat back and enjoyed the film. It was documentary about agriculture during the second world war. He took notes and recorded the lessons after, making sure to avoid any problems. It was his first day and first time being alone as an alter, Blaise wanted to show everyone that they could rely on him. How many others were there? Blaise was trying to think of how many people he had seen when he first left that room and came to real world when he ran into someone. "Oh crap, I'm so sorry!" He looked up to see a ginger haired teen staring at him hatefully. A feeling of panic filled him and Blaise stepped back. He didn't know this guy but the system must have if this lingering feeling of panic was flooding him.

"Get out of my way, Snowfreak. I don't have time to fuck around today." The ginger pushed passed Blaise.

_'Who was that?'_

_'That was Hans,'_ Nia had returned early. _'I felt panic and came to make sure nothing was going on.'_

_'Who is he to us?'_

Nia frowned and Blaise could feel her displeasure_. 'He is a threat to us. He's one of the reasons we exist and Elsa is so hurt. It is our job to protect Elsa and the others from him. Kiri and I had been doing it up until now.'_

_'I can help you guys. I'm not scared of him. How old is? Like 16? And Elsa is 13, right? That just makes him a weak coward. I can't stand anyone who picks on little kids, especially when it's of the different gender.'_

_'Easy, Blaise. We protect and only harm if it's the absolute last resort. The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves and cause someone unnecessary harm.'_

_'Is that why Kiri is on restriction?'_

_'Yes,'_ her tone got dark with warning._ 'And it'll happen to you should you do the same thing.'_

Her tone sent chills down his spine and gave him goosebumps. _'Yeesh. Okay, I promise I won't attack unless there's no other way. Do I have to do choir and dance p.e.?'_

_'No, Kiri can handle choir under my supervision and Ayalah usually takes physical education. You're free to go to the castle. Just follow the light and you'll get there in no time.'_

_'Okay. Don't forger, after school I'm teaching you something new.'_ Blaise chuckled as he felt a hand pull his shoulder. He looked to see a woman with black and red hair staring at him,

"Be good to her. She needs a big brother figure." Her deep red eyes were lined with dark circles. "I'm Kiri. Take care of her." She walked away, seeming to have too much on her mind. How old was she? The dark circles made her look like she was in her early thirties.

Blaise blinked. That was Kiri? "Damn, she's beautiful!" He followed a mysterious trail of snowflakes and frost until he came to a large castle in a beautiful meadow park. "Wow, these girls sure know how to live!" He smiled as he walked inside the castle doors.

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_**Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait. It feels so good to be writing my beloved fanfic again. See you in my next chapter and as always, thanks for reading/faving/following!**_


	24. Idle Chat (Alters)

_**Woo! Another update! I hope you guys enjoy! This is just an easy chapter of alters talking in the inner world. I'm using my hypomanic (high end of bipolar) energy to write. I'll be fine, so no worries. Enjoy!**_

_**TW: none**_

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Chapter 24- Idle Chat (Alters)

Ayalah stared at this new person in the castle. Who was he? Where had he come from? What was his purpose? Was he good for the system? She stared at him, straight faced and unblinking. Now and again she'd glance at Anna, who was talking animatedly with him. If Anna was comfortable around him, than he couldn't be too bad, right? Still she kept her guard up as she returned to her artwork. Ayalah found it comforting to draw the things she saw when her parasomnia took over. The most recent demon had one face with 4 asymmetrical, eyelid-less eyes that were looking anywhere but at her, its mouth was lipless and in an eternal grimace of pain and it was hunched over in an unnatural lean forward. The creature had sat on her chest all night until finally it slowly slid down her legs by the time dawn came. Without a word, Aya set down her art supplies and began dancing, showing a rare smile. Her bipolar disorder was throwing her into a hypomanic state and she had energy to spare. She wanted to run a marathon and maybe build a treehouse to draw in.

Blaise looked to Aya and blinked. "Wait, she was just sitting calmly for like the last hour and now she's running around and dancing. Is she okay?"

Anna nodded with a funny smile. "Yeah, Dina said that she has bipolar type 2 so this is normal for her."

"Bipolar has types?" Blaise tilted his head and looked to the door as he heard it open.

Kiri walked in, looking exhausted. "Yes, bipolar has types. There's bipolar one, which has extreme depressive and manic episodes. Bipolar two is the same but the episodes aren't as intense. Then there's rapid cycling bipolar, where the episodes happen 4 or more times in a 12 month period, mixed bipolar which means the episodes can happen at the same time and last there's cyclothymic. Cyclothymic describes times when the episodes are brief and mild; yet doesn't quite fit into any of the bipolar episodic definitions," Kiri sat in her usual chair and slumped over. "Just let Aya be and everything will be fine. The cycle needs to run its course."

Blaise couldn't help but stare. Kiri was beautiful and smart. "Damn, you're smart."

"When you're the first one to exist, you get smart on a lot of things," she replied.

"Hey, if you're here, I'm here, Aya is here, Arcy is napping, and Blaise is here, does that mean Nia is fronting?" Anna tilted her head.

"Yeah, she's handling the homework right now. So new guy, what's your name?"

"I-I'm Blaise."

Kiri raised an eyebrow at his stupid grin. "Cool, so , what's your purpose here?"

"Purpose?"

Kiri rubbed her forehead. "Everyone here has a purpose. I'm the persecutor, Nia is the caretaker, Anna is the social one, Aya is the artistic one, Arcana is the childhood innocence. What role do you serve?"

Blaise thought for a moment. "I don't really know yet. Think I will soon?"

"In time, your purpose will be revealed." Everyone turned to see Nia walk in.

Aya, who was currently doing jumping jacks to burn off the energy that her hypomania was giving her, looked to Nia and waved with a huge smile. She went from jumping jacks to going out of the sliding door to the backyard. She had to run around, had to stay moving. Restlessness was creeping in quickly and Aya didn't want to sit still.

Nia looked to the group. "How long has her hypomania been acting up?"

Anna looked to the wall clock. "About 20 minutes now."

Nia raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps a workout room or even a race track would be good for her. She always has tons of energy when her hypomania episodes happen."

"I agree, she runs around so much that she already broke 3 vases," Kiri sighed as she stood and walked to the kitchen. "Perhaps we should speak to Dina about getting her some form of therapy for her bipolar disorder. I get the feeling Aya isn't the medication type." Kiri poured herself a glass of wine and sat back down. "So if everyone is here, what is Elsa's body doing?"

"No need to worry. I explained to Diane that we had to have an inner meeting and laid the girl down for a nap. We're all safe in bed." Nia blinked. "It's kind of confusing to talk like that when we're all here, Elsa included." Nia returned her attention to Aya, who had come back in and was dancing to music in her head. "Yeah, I think she'd enjoy a work out room. Well, anyway, how is our little Snowflake doing?"

Kiri finished her wine and stood. "Last I checked, she was still out of it. I'll go check again." Kiri walked upstairs and into Elsa's room. The small girl was still unconscious. Another shot of guilt stabbed through Kiri's heart._ 'If I had only controlled my temper with that girl, Elsa wouldn't have run off. She wouldn't have seen what sent her into this. It's all my fault.'_ She jumped a little as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Blaming yourself for the past won't get us forward to the future. All we can do now is wait and see what happens."

"You're right, Nia. But make some noise when you approach someone. I was about ready to punch you."

Nia just smiled. "I'm a peaceful presence, I don't make noise."

Kiri sighed and walked back downstairs. "I need another glass of wine."

"No, Kiri. Don't overdo it. Remember the last time you had too much?

Kiri made a face as she remembered the ridiculously childish way she had acted. She had been a couple glasses of wine into the night and felt light headed. Everything went black and when Kiri woke up the next morning, Anna was waiting beside her bed. Despite being told to leave, Anna refused and held out a camera to Kiri. With an agitated sigh, Kiri took the camera. A video was paused, ready to play. Kiri shot a glance to Anna, who had nodded. So Kiri pushed play, soon wishing she hadn't. The video showed Kiri singing karaoke in a bikini. That was all Kiri watched before slamming the view finder shut.

Kiri shook her head, trying to shake the memory from her mind. "Don't remind me. But you're right. One glass a night will be enough." She studied Nia closely. "How long has it been since you last slept?"

"Slept?"

"That would be a not at all," Kiri rubbed her eyes. "You need to sleep. It's good for your mental and physical health."

"I'm fine. I'm an ageless woman with no need to sleep or eat." Nia waved her hand.

"You can't be the caretaker if you get sick or pass out from exhaustion." Kiri crossed her arms.

"Than I shall eat and sleep when everyone is taken care of. For now, let us go downstairs." Nia took the lead and went downstairs. Kiri shook her head and followed.

"NIA!" Arcy's cry made Nia turn and sprint to the little girl's room. "Arcy! Nia's here! What's wrong, sweetie?" Nia cradled the crying girl.

Arcy hiccupped. "She had bad dreams, of the mean lady….It felt so real. Nia, tell her how the mean lady was kicked out again?" Arcy took her usual place under Nia's wing and held onto her waist.

"Sure thing, Sweetie. A magical girl with the gift of snow grew angry with the mean lady and how she was treating you. So the magical girl fought her using her magical snow. It wasn't pretty or easy, but in the end the magical Snowflake one the battle. Mean lady was defeated, never to return."

Arcy smiled and curled into Nia's waist. "She always loves hearing that story. It calms her down all the time."

Nia smiled and stroked Arcy's hair. "I'll always tell it to her when she wants to hear it. Is she hungry? I bet she'd like a peanut butter and banana sandwich with green grapes and apple juice."

Arcy perked up and bounced on the bed. "She'd LOVE that! Can she help cut the bananas?"

Nia smiled. "Sure. I'll show her how to use a butter knife to cut bananas." She picked up Arcy and placed her on her back, as usual never paying any mind to the tiny sting as a few feathers were plucked. Nia smiled walking down the stairs.

"She's so glad the feathers are coming back! And they look so much prettier than before! So much softer, too!" Arcy giggled. "Hey Nia, who's the guy?"

_'So she can see him, too. With Arcy, this means everyone can see him. Maybe he has a purpose to everyone?' _"He's new, sweetie. He's here to help us."

"What's his name?"

"Blaise. Think of him like a big brother," Nia answered, walking into the kitchen.

"He isn't bad like the other one was, is he?"

"Not at all, sweetie. I wouldn't let anyone bad in here. You all mean so much to me."

Arcy giggled as she hopped off Nia's back. "You're so sweet, Nia! Arcy loves you!" She hugged Nia's legs.

"I love you, too. Now let's cut some bananas."

"Yay!" Arcy clapped and took the butter knife Nia held out to her. She watched carefully and did as Nia did, laughing as the banana stuck to the knife. "Look, look! It likes the knife!"

"It sure does, sweetie. Wanna spread the peanut butter?"

"She does!"

Blaise stared in the kitchen, intrigued. "Who's that? She's just the cutest little thing!"

"That's Arcana, the little alter among us. She went through a lot thanks to, well, her."

Blaise stared at Anna, clueless. "Who's her?"

"Come with me, I'll tell you." Kiri stood and walked to the front doors. Blaise got up and followed her outside. Kiri sat on a bench, motioned for him to sit and began after he had sat down. "At one time, we weren't the only ones. There was a dangerous woman in the group. She did everything she could to hurt all of us. She traumatized Elsa and Arcana the most. Astrania suspected that Nassiri was an introject of the abusers that Elsa faced in her real life. Both her father and the kids at school. For a while, Nassiri had locked all of out of the real world and ran rampant in Elsa's real world life. She caused more trauma to Arcy by having her endure the things her father would do. Nassiri tested everyone. But one day Elsa managed to kill her; so we don't have to worry about her anymore. Don't mention Nassiri by name. It's a huge trigger for Arcana and a minor trigger for Anna. We only refer to that woman as her or mean lady, by Arcy."

Blaise sat silent for a moment as he processed all the information. "Alright, I won't say a thing. I'll just pretend I don't know about her. Last thing I want is for Anna or Arcy to start freaking out."

"Good. Go back inside," Kiri stood and walked to the back of the castle. "I'm going to the White Forest to be alone. Tell Nia, she'll understand."

Blaise nodded and walked back in. "So, uh, kinda odd question here but where do I sleep?"

Anna bounced up. "I'll show him!" She grabbed his hand and ran upstairs, fumbling over the steps. "So, while you were out with Kiri, Nia sat Arcy down at the table and came up here. I dunno how she did it but she just said some words and POOF! There was a bedroom for you and a workout room for Aya. It was the neatest thing!" Anna stopped in front of a room with a door that had his name on it. "Here ya go!"

Blaise nodded. "Sweet! So uh, I guess your my room neighbor, huh?"

"Yep!" Anna exclaimed, standing a few feet away by her door. "See ya in a bit! I gotta study!" Anna walked into her room and closed the door, Blaise doing the same.

Elsa stirred o her bed, mumbling. "I can't, no…Wha?" Her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dimmed light of the curtained rom. "Oh god, my head hurts. What happened?" She looked around, trying to scour her memories. "Is this my castle? How did I end up here? The last thing I remember is…uh, well I can't recall what I was doing last. Maybe that's best." Elsa sighed and sat up, ruffling her hair. "I think I'll just sit here and let my stomach settle a little."

Kiri, who was on her way to her room, heard Elsa talking. "Elsa?! You're awake?!" She ran through the door and hugged Elsa tightly. "I was so worried about you!"

Elsa's eyes widened. "Whoa, calm down there, Kiri. This isn't like you."

"Oh thank goddess, you remember me!" Kiri couldn't help the giant grin on her face. "NIA! SHE'S AWAKE!"

Elsa was baffled. Hadn't she just been sleeping for the night? Why was her being awake such a big deal? "Uh, ok?"

Nia sprinted in, her steps were actually heard before she was seen. She, too, threw herself on Elsa. "ELSA! My little Snowflake! We were so worried about you!"

Elsa flailed her arms as best as she could. "Guys! Air, I need air!" They let her go and sat next to her. "I was just asleep for the night, why is me being awake such a big deal?"

Nia and Kiri exchanged glances, nodded and Nia ruffled Elsa's hair. "We thought you'd never wake up. We tried everything but you just wouldn't budge, not even for food. It's about time you woke up, sleepyhead."

"DID I HEAR SOMEONE SAY THAT ELSA WAS UP!" Anna was next to fly into the room. "ELSA YOU STINKER! WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE AWAKE!" She looked at Kiri, who nudged her. "What?" Kiri whispered to her and Anna nodded. "You missed all the meals, you silly little turd! Let's go eat!"

"Whoa!" Elsa laughed as Anna pulled her out of bed and out of her room. "I'm coming!" She followed Anna downstairs.

Kiri and Nia sighed. "She luckily doesn't remember the incident you caused at school, which is good. It also means she doesn't recall seeing the murder that put Blaise's fragments together. I have no idea if she'll be able to see Blaise or hear him, but I think that should be eased into by Dina and not us."

"I agree on everything. I'm just so grateful that she's awake. I was thinking she'd never wake up. How long had she been asleep this time?"

Nia looked to the clock on Elsa's dresser. "Almost a year in our time. I don't know how to calculate that into real world time. But let's just go make sure that she's okay."

Kiri nodded and the two walked out of Elsa's room. As they walked by, Nia could hear Aya was using the weight lifting station to burn off her energy. She smiled and walked downstairs, seeing Elsa happily talking with Anna about dreams she had while asleep. Kiri sat in her usual chair, Arcy drawing at the table. Music was faintly sounding from upstairs, so Blaise was in his room. Astrania smiled, seeing that everyone was happy. _'I'm doing a great job, aren't I?'_

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_**I hope you enjoyed! As always, thanks for reading/faving/following! See you in the next chapter!**_


	25. Roller Coaster (Ayalah)

_**I am so sorry for the long wait for a new chapter. I've been really struggling with my own bipolar disorder and trying to deal with it until my insurance goes through and I can get treatment. I hope this makes up for it. The next few chapters are going to focus on the alters lives. So enjoy this glimpse into their daily lives!**_

_**TTW: bipolar mania, psychosis, physical/visual hallucinations**_

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Chapter 25- Roller Coaster (Ayalah)

Aya was feeling great. There was nothing she couldn't do. But the workout room wasn't really doing it for her. She wanted…more. But what more? She paced around for a good 20 minutes before deciding to go on a run through the park of the inner world. Aya changed into a light hoodie, yoga pants and running shoes. She grabbed her phone, ear phones and left the castle. She wanted to be a model but needed to lose some weight first. Aya ran laps around the park, guessing the distance was around 1.37 miles. She stopped to get something to eat and appreciated the view from her bench. She could see the lake where the duck family was, the aspen and weeping willow trees and the bridge that went over a narrow part of the lake. It seemed like just yesterday that this whole place was nothing more than a blank space with a few beds and now it was like a cozy little community.

Ayalah threw out her trash and began the run. Running was invigorating and gave her a sense of freedom. There was peace and quiet, no other people to bother her. She was free in her own thoughts and ideals. The world was so vivid in color and life.

The sky seemed to be a mixture of deep, bright blues, the clouds looked so white they could have been made of fluff. The grass was the color green that you see on easter eggs and in books. Running over the bridge, the waters of the lake were so serene and clear that it could have been mistaken for just a little dip in the ground. It seemed like in no time, Aya had run around the park at least a few times. Not even winded but wanting a change of scenery, she turned to head back to the castle. Along the way, Aya stopped at the store to get hair dye. She wanted to be a red head like Nia was.

Aya wasn't sure if Nia knew, but Aya looked up to her. Astrania was strong, supportive, smart, wise and beautiful; everything Aya wanted to be. Even if Nia didn't know, Aya wanted to show appreciation somehow. She walked into the little shop, grabbed a hand basket and headed for the hair products aisle. The two shades that seemed closest to Nia's hair color were "Crimson Glamour" and "Sunburst Auburn." Unable to decide, Aya put both in the basket. Now she needed color protectant shampoo, a brush and scissors. Aya also picked up a hair dye brush and bowl for easier dying. Nia's bangs had a really gorgeous style and her hair was a little past her shoulders. It was really beautiful and Aya loved it.

Happily humming and feeling like she had wings on her back (incidentally like Nia,) she headed back to the castle. Life was great and nothing could bring her down. Aya skipped through the front doors, twirled around and smiled.

"You seem in good spirits, Aya," Nia smiled to her.

Aya acknowledged her with a nod and skipped to her room. The great thing about this castle was that everyone had their own bathroom in their room. Which in turn meant she could lock her doors and do her hair uninterrupted. Aya placed her things on the bathroom counter and peeked out of her room quickly to compare the shades she had with Nia's color. It seemed that Crimson Glamour was closer. With a nod, she closed and locked the door. Once back in the bathroom, Aya sectioned her hair off and began mixing the dye. Ahe hummed, imagining how she would look as a red head. It was a rather pleasant image in her mind. Would Nia understand the gesture? Aya hoped so. The dye was cold as she brushed it onto her hair. It took about 45 minutes but Aya managed to cover every strand of her hair. How long was it supposed to soak? She read the sheet again and set her phone timer for 35 minutes. While she waited, Aya drew her heart out. Instead of the usual demons she drew, the pages were filled with illustrations of animals and fashion designs. It seemed to be just a few minutes and a few pages when the timer went off.

Humming along, Aya undressed and got in the shower. The water seemed to be blood as she washed the excess dye from her hair. That took about another 40 minuites. Once done, she wrapped the towel around herself and began to trim her hair. Aya blow dried her hair and fluffed it, shaking loose any trimmed hair that might have stuck to her. Looking in the mirror, she nodded and felt beautiful. Aya chose to do a natural make up just to accent her features and went to her closet. Strangely enough, she didn't want to wear her usual hoodie and jeans. Instead, she chose a pastel blue and purple swirl sun dress that Anna had gotten her as a surprise present a while back. She put it on, pinned her hair half up and left the room.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" Anna practically flew to Aya and hugged her. "YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL AYALAH, OH MY GOD! GUYS, COME SEE THIS!"

Kiri sighed, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the hallway to the bedrooms. "Why are you screami-" Her jaw dropped seeing Ayalah. "Whoa. You look amazing!"

Nia was tilting her head at Aya, smiling proudly. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and you do it beautifully, Aya. It's really touching that you look up to me so much."

Aya's smile was ear to ear and felt like her head would snap off at the jaw. Nia could tell! In a burst of energy, she ran and gave Nia the tightest hug she could.

Elsa was staring, bewildered. "Wow, that's unlike you, Aya. Are you okay? Granted I like seeing you this happy, it just seems odd."

"Dina suspects that Aya is bipolar, though she hasn't had enough time to narrow down which type yet," Nia replied.

"She looks like you, Nia. She looks pretty," Arcy piped up from her usual place under Nia's wings. "What's her name, Nia?"

"That's Ayalah, Arcy. She's a dear friend of mine. Does she like her?"

"Arcy does! Arcy trusts your judgement."

Everyone smiled. Aya tilted her head, seeing a fuzzy shape around Nia. Kiri smiled and patted Arcy's head. Was Arcana getting better with talking? Aya let go of Nia and spun around, almost laughing out loud. She took a selfie with Anna and Elsa and skipped to the kitchen. She wanted to sit by the pool and just relax. But once she did sit, Aya felt very restless. Her feet kept twitching and her fingers were tapping. She got up and paced around. All this energy and the work out room and run had done nothing to make a dent in it. She felt like she was lost in a restless body that wasn't hers. Her arms were getting increasingly itchy and it was incredibly irritating. No matter how much she scratched, the itch just got worse. It was like a rash under her skin that she couldn't get rid of. Maybe it was some sort of weird reaction to the hair dye?

She felt like there was something in her hair and frantically ruffled every strand, unsuccessful in shaking the feeling. Her mood was shifting into straight agitation with these physical sensations she couldn't get rid of. Strange sounds caught her attention now and she turned to see bizarre and terrifying creatures emerge from the forest behind the castle. Bodies contorted in inhuman ways, eyes glowing with lavender death, gnarly long claws, under bites filled with jagged fangs, every inch of their figure covered in a sludgy material. Sheer terror filled every cell of Aya's body. They made eye contact with her before she bolted inside and locked the doors. All the doors and windows were closed and locked, but still she could feel their eyes. Aya heard the scratching of their claws on the walls of the castle, trying to get to her. What were they? Why were they coming for her?

Nia was sitting in her chair, watching Aya cautiously. It seemed Aya's good mood was caused by an episode of mania that had just started. "Oh dear, we need the right people to be able to deal with this while she's here," she stood and walked to Kiri in the dining room. "Keep an eye on Ayalah. I think she's hitting a psychotic mania. I'm going to make some changes to the inner world for her safety." Kiri nodded. "Don't touch her or say anything. Keep a safe distance unless absolutely necessary. We don't want to make this worse." And with that, Nia walked to her room and left through the window. She flew to an empty space in the park and waved her hands around. Her fingers started glowing as a building slowly took shape. What she was making was a mental health institution. But how would she create the doctors? Once the building was done, Nia sat and concentrated all her energy into splitting a part of herself to make a medical doctor. The sun was setting when she finally managed to do it.

Dizzy and weak, Nia stood and looked to the split doctor of herself. "Come, get Ayalah...Mania, psychosis...She needs help..." She shuffled her way back to the castle, her twin following silently.

They didn't have far to go before Aya came rushing out of the castle, tears streaming down her face and fright making her so pale she could have been dead.

"Easy there," Nia's split self gently stopped Aya. "We can go somewhere safe where they can't get you."

Aya looked to this doctor who was identical to Nia, stared behind her and then jumped onto the doctor. She clung to her, hoping the angel would fend off the demons.

"Lani...Your name, is Lani..." Nia huffed as she took the last few strides to the castle. "Take, care of her..." Nia made it inside and flumped on her chair. "Taken...care of..." And she promptly passed out.

Aya clung to the angel, shaking violently. Tears streamed down her face, soaking the woman's shirt.

Lani stroked her hair. "Everything is alright, Aya. I won't let anything happen to you. Whatever it is you're seeing, it won't get us."

Aya was shaking so badly that it was shaking Lani. The creatures were slowly shambling after them, as if all of their limbs were broken and they were struggling to walk in zero gravity. She tried to turn her eyes away from them but they only got closer. They entered a new building and to Aya's relief, the creatures seemed unable to open the doors. The downfall of horrors was not having thumbs to open doors. But still, the physical sensations, the sounds of the creatures trying to dig their way in and the feeling of those slim, vertical eyes upon her made her paranoid. She was given something to eat and drink and felt a prick in her arm. Before long, she was sound asleep.

"Take your rest, Aya. I'll watch over you." Lani smiled as she sat by Aya's bed.

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_**Thanks you so much for your patience! I have a brand new tablet pc which makes writing much less intimidating to me (a recent thing I've found. The laptop just seems to be too much to write on sometimes.) I do plan to do more updating on this and my original story, so thank you so much for your patience. Thanks for reading/faving/following! See you next chapter!**_


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